University of Oregon
Notre Dame
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03/25/04 | Men's Basketball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Luke Jackson scored the final six points of the game for Oregon and Andre Joseph led the Ducks with 16 points in a 65-61 victory Thursday over Notre Dame in the NIT quarterfinals.
Jackson had just two points with a little over eight minutes left, but hit some key baskets down the stretch to lead the Ducks (18-12). After making just 1-of-6 shots, Jackson made 3-of-4 down the stretch to finish with 14. Oregon shot 48 percent for the game, including 10-of-20 from 3-point range.
The Ducks play Michigan (21-11) in an NIT semifinal game Tuesday night in New York at 6:00pm PT. This is Oregon's third time in the NIT 
semifinals. The Ducks have never made it to the championship game, and their best finish was third place in 1975.
The Irish (19-13) failed in their attempt to post their fifth-straight 20-win season.
The Ducks went ahead 58-49 when Jackson hit a 3-pointer midway through the second half. The Irish closed to 58-54 on a 3-pointer by Chris Thomas, who also struggled early.
Thomas then went on an end-to-end layup, but was called for a charge on Aaron Brooks, a call the crowd of 8,011 booed for more than a minute. The booing changed to a standing ovation briefly when Thomas hit a 3-pointer and a foul was called. But Thomas missed the free throw that would have tied the score at 58 and the crowd resumed booing.
After Adam Zahn made a free throw for the Ducks, Thomas made a 15-foot jumper to tie the score at 59. That's when Jackson took over. He made a pair of free throws with 2:06 left to put the Ducks ahead, then hit a 15-foot baseline jumper to put the Ducks ahead 63-59. Chris Quinn banked in a shot to cut the lead to 63-61.
After a missed shot by Jackson, the Irish had a chance to tie it. Torrian Jones, who defended Jackson most of the game, rebounded the ball, but threw a bad pass to Thomas that bounced out of bounds.
Jackson was fouled and made just one free throw, but Jay Anderson rebounded and passed to Jackson, who was fouled again and again hit one free throw with 8 seconds left to make it 65-61.
Thomas finished with 18 points on 7-of-25 shooting -- a career-high for shot attempts -- and Quinn finished with 17 points. The Irish shot 38 percent. Ian Crosswhite had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon.
Both teams' stars struggled in the first half, which ended tied at 32. Jackson missed his first three shots, a pair of free throws and turned the ball over four times in the opening 8:15, finishing with two points in the half. Thomas missed his first four shots and was just 2-of-11 in the first half for five points.
