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November 2, 2007 Eugene, OR – Saint Martin’s opened the exhibition season with a 101-58 loss to the University of Oregon Friday night at McArthur Court. “I thought in stretches we played well. We learned a lot against Oregon. Having the chance to play a team that good, and they are very good, was great for our guys,” said head coach Keith Cooper. “Had we played a lesser team the score would have been much closer but being able to play the 12th ranked team in the nation, coming off an Elite 8 appearance, in Mac Court, with the pit, and a sold out crowd was a great opportunity and experience for our guys.” Jake Linton led the Saints with 16 points while Brendan Campbell and Bill Richardson added 10 each. Richardson also pulled down nine boards. “Out goal was to improve and I think we did. We showed individual improvement and good team improvement throughout the game,” added Cooper. The Ducks, ranked 12th in the Associated Press poll, went on a run early in the first half to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 21-6 point advantage. Oregon was led by Bryce Taylor with 20 points. LeKendric Longmire had 14 while Tajuan Porter and Kamyron Brown added 12 each. Saint Martin’s was held to just a 33.9 percent from the field while the Ducks shot 56.9 percent. Oregon was also able to score 38 points off of Saint turnovers while SMU only accumulated 13 points off of 20 Duck turnovers. “The score is probably more indicative of how good they really are not whether or not we’re a good team yet. We are a good team that played a great team,” said Cooper. The Saints get ready to take on the Evergreen State College on Friday, November 9th at home at 7 p.m.
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