by Steve Mims
EUGENE, OREGON
The Oregon men’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season with home wins over California and Stanford.
The Ducks earned a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament by finishing fourth at 12-8. Oregon is 18-13 as it prepares to open the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday likely needing at least a couple wins to make the NCAA Tournament.
Rivaldo Soares had 13 points to pace the Ducks during a 87-58 win over California on Thursday. N’Faly Dante, who was named to the all-conference team, added 12 points. Will Richardson, an honorable mention all-conference selection, had 11 points and 10 assists while Nate Bittle also scored 11.
Two days later, Dante led the way with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in a 73-68 win over Stanford. Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 14 points while Richardson had 10 points and six assists.
BASEBALL
Oregon completed a four-game sweep of San Diego to improve to 8-3 as it prepares to open Pac-12 play at PK Park on Friday against UCLA.
Drew Cowley drove in two runs as Oregon won the opener 3-2. Cowley added two more RBIs in a 4-3 win on Friday while Tanner Smith added two hits and two RBIs.
Sabin Ceballos was 2-for-2 with four runs scored and two RBIs in a 13-0 win on Saturday while Cowley added thee hits. Colby Shade was 3-for-4 with six RBIs and Jacob Walsh went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
The Ducks took the series finale 5-1 as Cowley again drove in two runs.
WOMEN’S SOFTBALL
Oregon won four of five games at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. during the weekend.
Tehya Bird had three RBIs in a 6-2 win over Fresno State before Minnesota defeated the Ducks 4-1.
Oregon bounced back with a 17-1 win over Cal Poly as Allee Bunker had three hits and four RBIs.
Vallery Wong had three hits in a 6-2 win over San Jose State before Bird drove in three runs in a 9-0 win over Loyola Marymount.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Sophie Luescher, Uxia Martinez Moral and Jo-Yee Chan all won singles matches as the Ducks defeated Arizona 4-1 on Friday. Two days later, Arizona State defeated the Ducks 4-0.
LACROSSE
The Ducks defeated George Mason 16-10 on Sunday after losing 15-9 at Navy on Friday. Gabby Cleveland had for goals against Navy while Morgan McCarthy scored four against George Mason.
ACROBATICS AND TUMBLING
Oregon improved to 3-0 with a 257.055-253.745 win over Gannon. Rachel Furlong and Haley Ellis each had a season-best in tumbling to lead the Ducks to victory.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Oregon defeated Bushnell 5-0 before dropping four straight matches at the Pac-12 South Invitational in Los Angeles. Top-ranked UCLA, No. 12 California and No. 16 Washington all swept the Ducks 5-0 while No. 17 Arizona won 3-2.
Steve Mims has spent 25 years as a sportswriter, including 21 years at The Register-Guard. He covered University of Oregon athletics from 2013-2020. He works in Eugene as a registered representative and insurance agent at PBC Insurance. He can be reached at smims@pbcins.com.