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Hairston, Leunen help Oregon outlast Portland for fourth straight win

Nov 18, 2007 - 5:20 AM PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Malik Hairston and Maarty Leunen took turns helping No. 13 Oregon escape Portland unscathed.

Hairston scored 24 points and Leunen added 17 as the 13th-ranked Ducks survived a scare from rival Portland, 85-61, on Saturday.

Hairston, who scored a career-high 29 points in a win over Western Michigan on Monday, was 8-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the arc.

Tajuan Porter scored 15 points for Oregon, which shot 54 percent(29-of-53) from the floor and hit 10 3-pointers en route to its fourth straight win and 15th straight over non-conference opponents.

The Ducks (4-0), who have lost two of their last three games here, struggled in the first half and held just a two-point led at 31-29 after 20 minutes. Hairston led the way as he shot 4-of-7 from the floor in the first half and hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 15-6 run that broke open a tie game.

Leunen then took a turn leading the charge in the second half, scoring seven points during a 19-9 run that helped the Ducks take a 50-38 lead with 14:17 remaining.

The Pilots (1-3) could only get within 50-40 with 13:13 left before Hairston scored 10 points during a second 15-6 run that put Oregon in control at 65-46 with 7:08 remaining.

Taishi Ito scored 13 points and Robin Smeulders added 12 for Portland, which shot just 41 percent (24-of-58) from the floor and is 0-15 vs. top-25 opponents since 2000.