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Hairston has big first half in Oregon rout

Dec 18, 2006 - 4:41 AM EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- Malik Hairston and Oregon were treated well by the 3-point shot.

Hairston scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and Aaron Brooks added 18, including four 3-pointers, as No. 24 Oregon rolled to an 84-55 victory over Idaho State in a non-conference matchup.

Bryce Taylor, who made four 3-pointers, had 14 points for the Ducks (10-0), who improved to 3-1 all-time against the Bengals (4-6). This is Oregon's best start since opening with the same record during the 1996-97 season.

The Ducks netted 14-of-29 attempts from the arc.

"Coach (Ernie Kent) gives us the green light to shoot when he have good looks," Taylor said. "We are all pretty good shooters, and we just have to have confidence that when we take shots they are going to go down."

"Right now, we are passing the ball very well, getting great looks, and just burying them (shots)," Hairston said.

Hairston, who had 12 rebounds, split a pair of free throws with 2 1/2 minutes expired for an 8-0 lead. The Ducks never looked back from there as they built a 45-28 cushion at halftime.

Brooks netted seven points during a 13-2 run to start the second half as Oregon extended its lead to 58-30 with 15 minutes left, putting the game out of reach.

"This was a very business-like win for us tonight," Kent said. "We shared the ball well, shot the ball well and played good defense."

Akbar Abdul-Ahad scored 15 points and made three steals for Idaho State, which had its two-game winning streak ended.

"They (Ducks) were big and physical inside and shot the ball well from the perimeter," Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien said. "That, combined with how much more experienced they are than us, made it a long night."