From: allen@tessi.com (Allen Warren)
Subject: Far West Classic -- Ohio State & U. of Oregon (long)
Organization: Test Systems Strategies, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 18:45:07 GMT

Far West Classic Final
Ohio State -- 79
Oregon     -- 75

Article by Ken Goe of the (Portland) Oregonian staff:


	Oregon basketball coach Jerry Green, who darkly hinted
he didn't want to be here, almost walked off with the Far West
Classic championship trophy Tuesday night in Memorial Coliseum.
	The Ducks led late in the second half, but Ohio State
rallied to slip away with a 79-75 victory before 10,535 fans,
who were on the edges of their seats most of the game.
	Who could have predicted this?  Ohio State (6-2) got
votes in this week's Top 25 pool.  The Ducks (6-5) are being
picked by many for a last-place finish in the Pac-10 Conference.
	But there was some magic in the coliseum air for two
days, starting with Oregon's 76-70 conquest of 25th-ranked
BYU on Monday.
	"After last night, we had a lot of confidence coming
into tonight," said Antoine Stoudamire, who led the Ducks with
24 points.  "We played as hard as we could.  We just made some
mistakes."
	Oregon last led after Jeff Potter dropped in three of
four free throws -- the final one with 3:12 left in the game
-- to put the Ducks up 68-67.
	Jamie Skelton answered for Ohio State with a short
jumper to make it 69-68.
	Rickey Dudley's foul shot with 2:22 to play put the
Buckeyes up by two points.  Then Alex Davis hit twice more
from the line to stretch Ohio State's lead to four points.
	When the Ducks failed to score on their end, they had
to foul.  Ohio State held them at arms length by making five
of six free throws in the final 1:18.
	"Ohio State was a fine basketball team," Green said.
"They made the shots and got the rebounds down the stretch.
We missed a few."
	The Ducks led by seven points with 11:30 left in the
game but couldn't hold it.
	"We really wanted a good showing," UO guard Orlando
Williams said, "especially after last year and our poor play
here.  We came here confident that we could do well.  It 
just didn't work out for us tonight.
	"The way we played here will help us as a team."
	With the Buckeyes down seven, Skelton got an 8-0
Ohio State run going by dropping in a short jump hook from 
the lane.
	Dudley muscled in a shot from inside, Skelton converted
two free throws and Lawrence Funderburke finished the Buckeyes'
burst by taking an alley-oop lob from Skelton and slamming
it through.  With 9:41 to play, Ohio State was back in front,
53-52.
	Damon Runyon took a perfect lead pass from Stoudamire
inside for a bucket to put Oregon up by a point.
	Ohio State roared back with Alex Davis' three-point
play to lead 56-54.  When Funderburke nailed a foul shot
with 7:30 remaining to finish a three-point play, the Buckeyes
led 59-56.
	The Ducks were wounded but wouldn't stay down.  Stoudamire
poked a pass dree and streaked in for the layup that made it
59-58.  Oregon elbowed back in front, 60-59, when Runyon hit 
twice from the line with 6:39 showing.
	UO led again on Potter's two free throws at the 5:03
mark.  But Skelton went to the other end and sand a 3-pointer
to give Ohio State a 64-62 advantage.
	The Ducks used that same gritty combination of hustle
and hard work to hang with Ohio State through the see-saw game.
	Oregon clawed and scrapped to stay in the game, urged
on by Green, who stood on the sideline and implored them to
"work, work, work."
	So they did.
	Late in the first half, the Ducks led 27-26 when Aaron
Johnson saw an opening on the baseline, drove, socred, was
fouled by Antonio Watson and hit the free-throw.
	Watson came back to push home an offensive rebound to
put the Buckeyes ahead 28-27.
	Oregon's Clyde Jordan tied it with a free throw.  Then
Johnson decisively followed up a Stoudamire miss at the end of
an Oregon fastbreak, and the Ducks led 30-28.
	The Duck fans hadn't finished cheering when Greg
Simpson calmly nailed a 3-pointer to give Ohio State back the
lead, 31-30.
	Johnson hit from the baseline, but Funderburke answered
on the other end with a 17-foot jumper to give the Buckeyes
a 33-32 advantage at intermission.
	"We just had a hard time getting started tonight,"
said Skelton, who gunned in 21 points to pace Ohio State.
"The coach got us going with his talk at halftime.  I think
we showed our hearts after that."
	Oregon spotted the Buckeyes a 37-34 lead in the first
minute of the second half, then went back to work.
	Stoudamire got the Ducks rolling with a three-pint play.
Point guard Johnnie Reece then slipped into the lane as the shot
clock ticked down and hit an off-balance 12-footer.  When Bob
Fife took a Reece feed and banked it home at the 16:10 mark
to cap a 7-0 run, Oregon led 41-37.

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