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No. 18 Oregon takes on USC for Pac-10 tourney crown

Mar 10, 2007 - 4:03 PM No. 18 Oregon (25-7) at USC (23-10) 6:00 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Tajuan Porter and Malik Hairston picked the perfect time to start hitting on all cylinders.

Porter and Hairston hope to lead 18th-ranked Oregon to its first Pac-10 Conference title in four years Saturday when they face Southern California in the conference tournament championship game.

A member of the Pac-10 All-Freshmen Team, the 5-6 Porter made 8-of-12 shots, including six 3-pointers, and scored 24 points in Friday's 81-63 semifinal victory over California.

After making 5-of-9 shots and scoring 13 points in Thursday's quarterfinal win over Arizona, Hairston sank 10-of-13 shots and scored 22 points Friday for the Ducks, who shot nearly 63 percent (30-of-48) against the Golden Bears.

USC seeks its first conference championship since 1985, when the conference tournament was not held. The Trojans made their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002.

Following a quarterfinal victory over Stanford, USC avenged last Saturday's double-overtime loss to Washington State in Friday's 70-61 triumph.

USC won both regular-season meetings against Oregon, including a 71-68 win February 3. However, the Ducks defeated the Trojans in the 2003 tournament final.