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EUGENE, Ore. Charles Brown Jersey . -- The Oregon Ducks opened the regular season with a 13-game winning streak. They closed it with seven straight victories. The Ducks may have stumbled in the middle, but reserve guard Jason Calliste says the Ducks still belong in the national conversation -- especially after a 64-57 victory over No. 3 Arizona in the regular-season finale Saturday. "We can be one of the best teams in the country," he said. "Doesnt matter who were playing. Doesnt matter what the name on the chest says." Calliste made the go-ahead jumper and free throw with 4:22 left and finished with 18 points for the Ducks, who trailed by as many as 12 points. "I just didnt want to lose," he said. "Wasnt time to go home yet." Johnathan Loyd added 16 points for the Ducks (22-8, 10-8 Pac-10) who greatly improved their chances of a bid in the NCAA tournament. Last season Oregon won the Pac-12 tournament and advanced all the way to the final 16. Aaron Gordon had 21 points for the Wildcats (28-3, 15-3), who had already clinched the Pac-12 regular-season title heading into next weeks conference tournament in Las Vegas. The Ducks won 13 straight to start the season and were ranked as high as No. 10, but then they lost five straight to tumble out of the poll and fall in the Pac-12 standings. The Ducks considered the game a must-win after a six-game winning streak made them a possible bubble team for the NCAA post-season and gave them their fourth straight season with at least 20 victories. As for the prospects following the victory over Arizona, Oregon coach Dana Altman wasnt going to speculate. "Im not going to worry about all that," he said. "Weve got to go to the conference tournament and weve just got to play." The Wildcats led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Oregon closed to 31-29 at halftime. Mike Mosers 3-pointer got the Ducks to 36-34 early in the second half with a 3-pointer. A six-point run put Arizona ahead 44-36 with 11:55 left and the Wildcats held on to the lead until Joseph Youngs 3-pointer got the Ducks within 50-48 and Loyds layup tied it at 50 with five minutes left. Calliste hit a jumper and a free throw to give the Ducks a 53-51 lead with 4:22 left for their first lead since the games opening minute. Calliste and Loyd hit back-to-back 3s to stretch the lead to 59-51 and the 12,364 fans at Matthew Knight Arena were on their feet. The Ducks held on for the win and the crowd rushed the court. Arizona had won five straight since a 69-66 overtime loss to rival Arizona State on Feb. 14. "They were highly motivated," Arizona coach Sean Miller said about the Ducks. "With that, we had to play at our best and we didnt." Oregon went into the game averaging a league-best 82.9 points, while the Wildcats were holding opponents to a league-low 58.5 points. Arizona jumped out to a 9-2 lead that was snapped by Loyds steal and fast-break layup for the Ducks. The Wildcats made it 20-8 on Nick Johnsons dunk midway through the first half. Joseph Youngs layup pulled Oregon within 24-18, but Caleb Tarczewski answered with a dunk for the Wildcats. Oregon pulled to 31-29 at the half on Callistes 3-pointer with 3-seconds to go before the break. Calliste made four of five 3-point attempts in the game. Tarczewski led all players with 10 points in the first half. "Theyre fighting for a tournament berth and guys are in zones," said Johnson, who finished with 11 points for the Wildcats. "Give him (Calliste) credit, he made the shots." Mike Moser had with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double. Arizona beat Oregon 67-65 in Tucson on Feb. 6. It was Arizonas first full game without sophomore forward Brandon Ashley, who is out for the season after surgery on his right foot. Seven Oregon seniors played their final regular-season home game at Matthew Knight Arena. Stevie Brown .ca NBA Power Rankings, but there are changes among those teams in pursuit. Michael Strahan . LUCIE, Fla.DETROIT -- Alex Avilas drive sailed to deep right field, barely clearing both an outfielder and a wall. An exhilarating opening series at Comerica Park was finally over, and the Detroit catcher could look forward to some much-needed rest. "Im too tired right now," Avila said. "Im glad we have an off day (Monday). This weekend has been crazy." Avilas two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Tigers a stunning 13-12 victory over Boston on Sunday, leaving the Red Sox winless in three games under new manager Bobby Valentine. Detroit swept the season-opening series, scoring 26 runs and winning twice in its final at-bat. The Tigers trailed 10-7 on Sunday when Miguel Cabrera tied the game with a three-run shot off Alfredo Aceves in the ninth. Boston then scored twice in the 11th, but Mark Melancon (0-2) couldnt hold the lead. Cabrera and Prince Fielder singled with one out before a wild pitch sent Cabrera to third and Delmon Youngs sacrifice fly cut the margin in half. Avila followed with a drive to right and Cody Ross tried to make a leaping catch, but the ball appeared to hit a restraining gate just above the wall before caroming back onto the field. Avila paused near second before being waved around the bases by the umpires. The play was not reviewed. Valentine said he asked and was assured by umpires that the ball had clearly hit the railing above the fence. "You dont see those kinds of games at this level very often," Avila said. "Theres really no rhyme or reason or explanation for it." Its certainly rare for the Red Sox: They lost for the first time when scoring 12 runs or more since a 22-13 loss to the Chicago White Sox on May 31, 1970, according to STATS LLC. Duane Below (2-0) got one out for the win -- even though Detroit manager Jim Leyland said he wouldnt be available -- in a game that lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes. Cabrera had five RBIs. The Red Sox and New York Yankees are both off to 0-3 starts -- the first time thats happened since 1966, according to STATS LLC. Boston is without newly acquired closer Andrew Bailey, who had surgery on his right thumb. Melancon and Aceves are the primary candidates to close in Baileys absence, and both blew saves on Sunday. "This is a work in progress," Valentine said. "Were three days in after losiing our closer, and were still trying to figure it out. Justin Pugh Giants Jersey. " Nick Punto and Dustin Pedroia hit RBI singles in the 11th to give Boston the lead, but it didnt hold up. Adrian Gonzalez homered earlier for the Red Sox. "Our guys played a hell of a game," Valentine said. "We had a walk-off loss on opening day, then got beat 10-0 and were down 4-0 in the first inning today -- but we fought back and took them 11 innings." Detroit beat the Red Sox 3-2 in Thursdays opener on a ninth-inning hit by Austin Jackson, then cruised to a blowout Saturday. The Tigers seemed on their way to another easy win when Jhonny Peraltas three-run double in the first inning gave them a 4-0 lead, but starter Max Scherzer couldnt hold it. Scherzer allowed seven runs on eight hits in 2 2-3 innings, but Bostons Clay Buchholz wasnt much better. He allowed seven runs on eight hits in four innings in what was his first start since June because of a stress fracture in his back. Buchholz had gone 42 consecutive starts since the beginning of 2010 without allowing more than five earned runs. Detroit reliever Daniel Schlereth allowed a two-run homer to Gonzalez on the first pitch he threw after coming on in the sixth. That gave Boston a 9-7 lead, and Vicente Padilla pitched four scoreless innings of relief for the Red Sox after replacing Buchholz. The 34-year-old Padilla kept the powerful Detroit lineup off balance, at one point lobbing consecutive pitches of 54 and 52 mph on the stadium gun to Fielder in the seventh. Punto made it 10-7 with an RBI infield single in the ninth, but Jackson and Brennan Boesch led off the bottom of the inning with singles, and Cabrera tied it. "Weve got to get this straight: Its not about Prince and me," Cabrera said. "Weve got 25 guys, its about the Detroit Tigers, its about everybody here. We feel comfortable about everybody here so lets play ball and play hard." NOTES: The Tigers placed RHP Doug Fister (strained left side) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Brayan Villarreal from Triple-A Toledo, moves they announced after Saturdays game. ... Valentine went out onto the field after Gonzalez was hit by a pitch from Phil Coke in the eighth. The umpires then warned both benches, which appeared to annoy the Boston manager even more. ' ' ' |
