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Brooks leads Oregon past California

Jan 21, 2007 - 6:20 AM EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- Aaron Brooks' big second half kept Oregon atop the Pac-10 Conference standings.

Brooks scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the No. 10 Ducks to a 92-84 triumph over California.

Oregon (18-1, 6-1 Pac-10) used a decisive 17-4 run to open the final 20 minutes and climb back from a 46-38 halftime deficit. Maarty Leunen's layup with 15 minutes to play gave the Ducks a 55-50 lead and they never looked back thereafter.

"There is no need for us to panic because we have so much talent on this team," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "We are playing in harmony this year, everyone knows that they can share the ball and still get their own numbers."

The victory kept Oregon tied for first with second-ranked UCLA, which defeated No. 12 Arizona earlier in the day.

"They got off to a big lead," Brooks said. "We need to start every game like it's the second half. If there's something we need to improve on, that is it."

Malik Hairston scored 19 points and Tajuan Porter added 15 for the Ducks, who shot 56 percent (30-of-53), including 12-of-23 from 3-point range.

Ayinde Ubaka and Omar Wilkes each had 17 points for the Golden Bears (12-7, 4-3), who had a three-game league road winning streak snapped despite shooting 52 percent (31-of-59), including 10-of-20 from the arc.

"It's frustrating obviously to put those kinds of numbers on the board," California coach Ben Braun said. "Those stats are usually enough to beat most teams and it was not tonight. Give Oregon credit. They came out with an explosive second half. They hit some tough shots."