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Leunen helps Oregon stay unbeaten with rout of Portland

Dec 29, 2006 - 6:53 AM EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- Conventional wisdom said Maarty Luenen and Oregon would steamroll over Portland. And that's what happened.

Luenen scored a game-high 24 points to lift the 20th-ranked Ducks to an easy 76-49 rout of Portland.

The Ducks (12-0), who entered as one of only four remaining undefeated Division I teams, jumped out to a comfortable 34-21 halftime lead and were never threatened thereafter.

"We needed this game to get our legs back after the holiday and it was important for us to get our rhythm back," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "We had been off since the 22nd, and this game helps us because we were able to shake off some of the holiday rust."

Losing eight of their previous nine games entering, the Pilots (3-12) shot 28 percent (8-of-29) in the opening 20 minutes.

"To be dominated by Oregon was a surprise, and the Ducks played with early energy and got amped up early on," Portland coach Eric Reveno said. "We were up on them in the opening 12 minutes but then our offense broke down, and we were unable to regain the tempo of the contest."

Luenen, a junior forward, started slowly with only three points in the first half but awoke with a vengeance in the second half by shooting 8-of-12 and scoring 21 points.

"All my shots came from the offense, just making plays and taking my shots," Luenen said. "Our team did a good job of moving the ball and getting off the line on defense, while causing turnovers and working to score points in transition and create open shots for our team."

Senior guard Aaron Brooks added 19 points for Oregon, which rolled despite shooting 24-of-62 (39 percent) from the field and only 6-of-25 (24 percent) from 3-point range.

Darren Cooper scored 12 to lead the Pilots (3-12), who fell to 0-7 on the road.

The Ducks will take their undefeated record into Pac-10 Conference play when they face intrastate rival Oregon State on Saturday.

"The conference season is totally different, and we will get the chance to step up our game a couple of notches in the next several weeks," Luenen said. "We are more experienced and our team has more leadership than in previous years."