Notebook | Ryan Appleby draws more humor than boos at Pit

EUGENE, Ore. — Washington guard Ryan Appleby still drew more boos than bouquets.

But the venom sent Appleby's way here Thursday never hit the predicted level as Oregon's student section at McArthur Court, the Pit Crew, apparently decided to take a different tack.

Appleby has been public enemy No. 1 here since his incident with Aaron Brooks at the Pac-10 men's basketball tournament two years ago. Last season Appleby was the target of derisive signs, posters and chants. Speculation this week had been that he would get more of the same Thursday.

Instead, the signs were more humorous than vile, one featuring a picture of Appleby with his arm around a superimposed Brooks inside of a heart.

"They were on him worse last year," said UW coach Lorenzo Romar.

And unlike a year ago, Appleby never did much to elicit any additional ire. Last year, Appleby scored 17 points in the first half, finishing with 21.

Thursday night, Appleby was scoreless in the first half and didn't score until 14:16 was left, finishing with eight.

Appleby, who said he didn't really notice the crowd, had a couple of open looks early but simply missed. "Last year when he was here, he hit them," Romar said. "This year he didn't."

After the opening minutes, Appleby had trouble getting any good looks. He was blanketed by Oregon guard Bryce Taylor, who was well aware Appleby had scored 19 in UW's 78-70 win over the Ducks in Seattle last month.

"As a whole, their team did a better job of knowing where I was than at home," Appleby said. "When I was coming off screens, their bigs did a better job of helping, and when I tried to drive, they were there to help and collapse, so there wasn't a lot of room for me tonight."

Morris' aim better

Washington guard Tim Morris became an unlikely national media target this week after he hit UCLA's Alfred Aboya on the head with the ball in the final minute of Sunday's game. Morris was trying to inbound the basketball but with the five-second count running out, threw it off Aboya to save the possession.

The same scenario arose twice here Thursday, each time Morris inbounding the ball under the basket. The first time, Morris threw the ball between the legs of an Oregon player, the ball going out of bounds for a turnover.

The second time, he plunked it off the mid-section of Oregon's Malik Hairston.

"That's what I usually do," Morris said. "That [the throw off Aboya's head] was a freak play. I usually throw it off somebody's legs."

Note

• Romar said freshman guard Justin Holiday will be out another week or two with a sprained MCL and ankle suffered in practice Tuesday. An MRI Thursday showed no significant damage, and Holiday won't need surgery. "He's going to be OK," Romar said.

Summary

WASHINGTON (13-12, 4-8 PAC-10)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Morris	26	1-7	0-0	2-3	1	2	2
Brockman	28	6-12	1-2	6-11	1	3	13
Wallace	23	3-4	0-0	3-4	1	4	6
Overton	18	2-3	0-2	0-0	2	2	4
Appleby	32	3-10	0-0	0-1	0	0	8
Smith	11	2-5	0-0	0-1	0	1	5
Dentmon	24	6-11	3-3	1-4	0	4	16
B.-Amaning	11	0-2	0-0	1-3	1	2	0
Pondexter	23	1-7	2-2	2-4	2	1	4
Wolfinger	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	3	0
	200	24-61	6-9	16-33	8	22	58

Percentages: FG .393, FT .667. Three-point goals: 4-16, .250 (Appleby 2-7, Dentmon 1-3, Smith 1-4, Morris 0-1, Overton 0-1). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 1 (Wolfinger). Turnovers: 13 (Dentmon 4, Appleby 2, Brockman 2, Overton, Wallace, Pondexter, Bryan-Amaning, Morris). Steals: 7 (Smith 3, Morris 2, Overton, Dentmon). Technical fouls: None.

OREGON (15-9, 6-6)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Hairston	26	4-10	3-4	3-4	4	3	13
Catron	29	2-6	5-9	4-5	4	4	10
Leunen	30	4-7	0-0	1-10	3	2	10
Taylor	31	4-9	4-4	1-4	0	1	15
Porter	29	2-7	2-3	0-2	1	0	8
Platt	10	0-0	0-0	1-1	2	1	0
Odia	19	4-5	0-0	0-2	1	2	12
Longmire	8	1-3	0-4	2-2	0	1	2
Viney	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	1	0
Brown	11	0-2	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Schafer	2	0-0	1-2	1-1	0	0	1
	200	21-49	15-26	13-35	16	15	71

Percentages: FG .429, FT .577. Three-point goals: 14-25, .560 (Odia 4-5, Taylor 3-5, Leunen 2-2, Porter 2-5, Hairston 2-6, Catron 1-1, Brown 0-1). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 4 (Leunen 2, Platt, Hairston). Turnovers: 13 (Porter 3, Taylor 2, Brown 2, Catron 2, Hairston, Longmire, Viney, Platt). Steals: 6 (Taylor 3, Leunen 2, Hairston). Technical fouls: None.

Washington	27	31	—	58
Oregon	33	38	—	71

Attendance: 8,866. Officials: Michael Reed, Bill Kennedy, Kevin Brill.