LEATH’S 21 POINTS NOT ENOUGH AS MEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS TO 16TH-RANKED OREGON

12/11/2007

EUGENE, Ore. -- Sacramento State led for a good portion of the first half, but Oregon used a 17-5 run during the final 6:22 of the stanza, and pulled away in the second half to post a 93-66 victory over Sacramento State in a non-conference men’s basketball game Tuesday evening at McArthur Court.

With the victory, Oregon, which is ranked 16th in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today top 25 polls, won its fourth in a row and improved to 8-1 this season. The Ducks also improved to 5-0 at home and have won those games by an average of 22.6 points per contest. Sacramento State dropped to 2-7 with the loss. The two teams were playing each other for the first time since 1978-79 season.

The Hornets’ season-long five game road trip doesn’t get any easier as the team next travels to Milwaukee to take on 10th-ranked Marquette on Saturday, Dec. 15. After the Marquette game, Sacramento State will have played four teams this year that were ranked in the preseason top 25 (Marquette, Oregon, Stanford and Kansas State).

Sacramento State junior guard Loren Leath scored a team-high 21 points (including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc) to go along with four rebounds and two steals in 24 minutes of action. Twelve of those points came in a first half that saw the Hornets control most of the way, including five-point leads at the 12:25 mark (21-16) and the 8:50 mark (27-22). Sacramento State’s last lead came with 6:22 remaining the second half when a lay-up by junior Randy Adams put the Hornets on top, 31-29.

Oregon, however, closed the half on a 17-5 run, as Maarty Leunen scored seven points during the run including a layup just before the buzzer to give Oregon a 46-36 halftime lead. The Ducks dominated the second half, outscoring Sacramento State, 47-30, and limiting the Hornets to 32.4 percent shooting in the second stanza.

Leunen finished with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds as he led five Ducks with double figures in points, comprised of Joevan Catron (20), Tajuan Porter (17), Bryce Taylor (15) and Frantz Dorsainvil (11). Oregon shot 50.8 percent (32-63) from the field overall and outrebounded the Hornets, 46-32.

For Sacramento State, Leath’s 21 points marked the eighth time in nine games the shooting guard has led the Hornets in scoring. He also has five games with 21 points or better this season. The long range sniper has now converted 30 of his 69 three-point attempts (.435) this season and continues to lead the Big Sky Conference with an average of 18.9 points per game.

Joining Leath in double figures for the Hornets was junior swingman Donald Thomas, who finished with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Adams had a team-high eight rebounds and has now led the Hornets in rebounding five times this season. Senior Clark Woods, who was nursing a sprained ankle, tacked on seven points, and freshman point guard Vinnie McGhee finished with seven assists and just two turnovers in a game-high 37 minutes.

The injury-ravaged Hornets were playing without the services of four players (Roderick Adams, Curtis Harrison, Yannick Kasongo and Alonzo Young). In fact, for the first time all season, the Hornets played true freshman guard Spenser Schulte, who had been practicing with the team, but was not scheduled to suit up in any games. Schulte had one assist and one rebound in one minute of play. Sophomore Wandji Aboubakar, who was playing in just his second game after coming back from a knee injury, played seven minutes.

Sacramento State turned the ball over just nine times, but shot 38.2 percent (26-68) from the field and was whistled for 22 fouls. That resulted in Kansas State going to the free throw line 20 more times than the Hornets. Aboubakar and senior Justin Williams both fouled out for the Hornets.

After Saturday’s game against Marquette, the Hornets do not play again until beginning the Big Sky Conference portion of the schedule on the road against Northern Colorado on Dec. 28.