Oregon Ducks top UNLV in game of threes

By Dave Skretta - Associated Press Writer     Mar 24, 2007

? Tajuan Porter, the little guy nobody wanted, has Oregon one game away from the Final Four.

The 5-foot-6 freshman tied an NCAA regional record with eight three-pointers and finished with 33 points, and Oregon withstood a frantic comeback to top seventh-seeded UNLV 76-72 on Friday in the Midwest Regional.

The third-seeded Ducks advanced to play top-seeded Florida on Sunday.

After Porter and Malik Hairston hit back-to-back three-pointers to make it 66-49 with 5:23 to play, UNLV began chipping away.

Kevin Kruger and Michael Umeh combined for 13 points during a 17-4 run that got the Runnin’ Rebels within 70-66 with 50.2 seconds to play. But Porter hit 4-of-6 from the line in the last 41 seconds and UNLV’s Joe Darger missed a three-pointer with 30 seconds to go.

Umeh nailed another three with 12 seconds to go, and after a quick foul, Porter hit the first of two free throws to make it a five-point game.

Back came Darger, this time hitting a three from the top of the key with 3.2 seconds left. But the Rebels couldn’t foul Oregon guard Bryce Taylor until 0.9 seconds left, and he hit both free throws to seal the win.

Kruger and Umeh scored had 15 points for UNLV (30-7). Darger added 13.

Porter, whose only scholarship offer from a big-name school came from Oregon, has suddenly become the darling of a tournament lacking a true underdog. He hit four three-pointers to send Oregon past Winthrop in the second round, then picked up right where he left off against the Runnin’ Rebels.

“He’s been like that the entire year,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “He hits big shots in big games.”

During one stretch in the first half, he scored 17 straight points for Oregon, hitting five three-pointers in a span of just over five minutes. Even when he was fouled tossing up a three, Porter canned all three free throws.

He capped a 14-2 run with a three-pointer less than a minute out of halftime, giving the Ducks a 45-33 lead and forcing UNLV coach Lon Kruger to call a timeout. But a few minutes later, Porter pulled up in transition and buried another one from the top of the arc to make it 58-40.

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