Kent, Porter have historic nights in win at UC Irvine

EUGENE, Ore. -- The University of Oregon men's basketball team had a historic night with Friday's 84-77 road win over UC Irvine. Head coach Ernie Kent became the school's all-time wins leader and junior guard Tajuan Porter became the 29th player in UO history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

The Ducks improved to 2-1 with the victory, their first road test of the 2008-09 season. The Anteaters dropped to 0-3 on the year.

Kent passed Basketball Hall of Fame member Howard Hobson's total of 212 wins. He is now 213-135 in 12 seasons at the helm of the UO program.

Oregon led 39-34 at halftime and both teams shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second half.

The Anteaters made a run, closing to within 72-66 on a layup by Bland with 1:44 remaining. But Porter hit 10-of-10 free throws in the final 53 seconds to seal the victory.

Four Oregon players scored in double figures, while there were 10 players who played 10 or more minutes in the game. Porter, who is the 10th player under Kent to eclipse 1,000 career points, finished with a team-high 23 points. He was held scoreless until the three-minute mark in the first half, before finishing 4-of-7 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free throw line.

Junior forward Joevan Catron and sophomore wing LeKendric Longmire chipped in with 12 points apiece. Freshman center Michael Dunigan added 11 points and seven rebounds in a foul-plagued 20 minutes of action.

Both teams shot a high percentage from the field, with Oregon hitting 50.9 percent (27-of-53) and UC Irvine a tenth of a percentage point behind at 50.8 (30-of-59). The Ducks were outstanding from behind the 3-point line, hitting 11-of-19 for 57.9 percent. UCI made 5-of-11 from behind the arc (45.5 percent), going just 1-of-5 in the second stanza.

Oregon held significant rebound (34-27) and block (7-2) advantages. UO had 13 assists to 16 team turnovers, while UCI recorded nine assists and 12 turnovers.

The Anteaters were led offensively by Kevin Bland who came off the bench to shoot an amazing 12-of-14 from the field, finishing with a game-high 26 points. Eric Wise was the only other UCI player to score in double figures with 16 points.

Oregon (2-1) will travel to Lahaina, Hawaii for the 2008 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational set for Nov. 24-26. The Ducks will open the tourney against Alabama, with tip-time scheduled for 9:05 p.m. (PST) from the Lahaina Civic Center. The game will be televised on ESPN.