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Taylor guides Oregon past Utah

Dec 9, 2007 - 5:06 AM PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Bryce Taylor made it a memorable game for Oregon coach Ernie Kent.

Taylor scored 20 points as the No. 18 Ducks fought off repeated runs to post a 75-62 victory over Utah on Saturday night.

Tajuan Porter added 16 points for the Ducks (7-1), who captured their third straight contest and enabled Kent to become the second coach in school history to win 200 games. He is 200-121 in 11 seasons.

"If I was a golfer I would have to use an analogy that Tiger Woods uses a lot; we really had to grind through the game today," Kent said. "It was a good win to get out of the way, even though we didn't play our best basketball."

Junior guard Tyler Kepkay, a transfer from the College of Eastern Utah, scored a season-high 23 points for the Utes (5-3), including four 3-pointers.

Kepkay's final shot from the arc whittled Utah's deficit to 61-57 with 7:21 remaining in the contest.

After the teams traded baskets, the Ducks went on a 6-0 run capped by an alley-oop layup from Maarty Leunen to push the margin to 69-59 with 3:07 to play.

Lawrence Borha's 3-pointer got the Utes within seven but Joevan Catron's tip-in and a steal and layup by Porter restored the lead to double digits with 59 seconds left.

"They have a tough experienced veteran team, and then there is Porter who is an X-factor," Utah coach Jim Boylen said. "He makes the tough plays, he makes shots that can demoralize your team, you can guard and guard and then he hits you with a tough shot."

Leunen and Catron scored 11 points apiece for Oregon, which shot 54 percent (29-of-54) from the floor in snapping Utah's three-game winning streak.

"We came out a little slow in the first half after the nine day break, but I thought we played a little better in the second half," Kent said.

Kepkay, whose previous high was 12 points in the season opener, made his first five field goal attempts to spark Utah to a 26-22 lead.

Taylor responded by scoring 10 straight points and Porter added the final two baskets, including one at the buzzer, to give Oregon a 38-33 lead at intermission.

"This was a great team for us to play, Utah is a good team and they helped us prepare for the Pac-10," Porter said. "I think as long as we don't get lackadaisical and play every game like it's our last we'll be successful."