Pac-12 mbxb
Joseph Young and Oregon knew that USC had lost a lot of close games, and they weren’t going to let Wednesday night’s matchup result in the Trojans’ breakthrough win. Young scored 26 points to lead Oregon to an 80-75 win in Los Angeles. Dillon Brooks and Elgin Cook each scored 15 points as the Ducks (18-7, 8-4 Pac-12) never trailed and won their fourth straight. Oregon visits UCLA on Saturday. Across town, junior guard Gary Payton II broke the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season and matched his career high but Oregon State’s two-game winning streak ended on Thursday with a 75-59 loss at UCLA. Payton II scored a game-high 24 points and had five rebounds, two assists and two steals but it was not enough as the Bruins earned a split on the season series before a Pauley Pavilion crowd of 6,346. The Beavers (16-8, 7-5 Pac-12) won the first game between the teams, 66-55 at Corvallis on Jan. 22. The Beavers conclude their Southland road trip on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at USC that will be televised by Pac-12 Networks. Their next home game is a Feb. 19 matchup with Utah.
RIP Bill Enyart; Forever a “Giant Killer”
– Legendary Oregon State University football player Bill “Earthquake” Enyart passed away Tuesday morning after a battle with cancer. Enyart, who was born April 28, 1947 in Pawhuska, Okla., was 67-years-old. Enyart graduated from Medford High School, helping the Black Tornado to a state title. He played varsity football for the Beavers from 1966-68. Enyart was part of the iconic 1967 “Giant Killers,” who went 7-2-1 with victories over No. 1 USC, No. 2 Purdue and a tie vs. No. 2 UCLA. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 joining former Heisman Trophy winner Terry Baker as the only Beaver players to be enshrined. He was a member of one of the first classes to be inducted into the OSU Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and added the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honor in 2003.
Pac-12 Baseball Poll
The Oregon Ducks are picked to finish second in the 2015 Pac-12 Preseason Baseball Coaches’ Poll released this week. UO received 84 points behind only preseason favorite UCLA. Arizona State came in third, followed by Stanford, Oregon State, USC, Arizona, California, Washington, Washington State and Utah.