Ducks get Civil War Win behind career days from Strowbridge and Armstead by Aubrey Wieber

Oregon got a huge blow out win against their instate rivals today in the second sell out at Matthew Knight Arena that pushed them into fourth place in the PAC-10. Jay-R Strowbridge took over in the second half, finishing with a career high 26 points, shooting 6-9 from three point range.

Both teams started out a little jumpy and each had their fair share of turnovers, but mid way through the first half Oregon started to pull away with a 11-0 run that lasted over three minutes fueled by "little brother" chants exploding from the student section.

The Ducks had several mini droughts on offense, especially in the first half, but it didn't seem to matter due to the horrible shooting by the Beavers (37% overall, 19% from three).

Oregon started off the second half similar to how they started the game; poor shot selection and ball handling. They were destroyed by the Beavers on the glass the whole game and with 13 minutes left in the game they saw their 13 point half time lead dwindle down to 8 with the momentum heavily favoring OSU.

With a very passive day for EJ Singler and Catron being bothered by the Beavers size inside, the Ducks looked to Strowbridge and Armstead for their offense. At about the 12 minute mark Strowbridge hit back to back three's that started a run. At one point mid way through the second half their last six made field goals were 3's.

Armstead chipped in with a career high 13 dimes and at the 7 minute mark the game was already over with Oregon extending their lead to 21.

The rest of the game consisted of Oregon using as much clock as possible and continued woes offensively for Oregon State.

Although the three point shot was huge for Oregon, their defense was just as big. As always, their hands were very active in the passing lanes and they were not afraid to step in and take a charge.

This game was a statement win and really showed how far the Ducks have come from last year. Their improvement has 100% been a testament to the superior coaching of Dana Altman and why he should be a lock for PAC-10 Coach of the Year.

With only four games left, the Ducks are looking to finish the year strong and go into the PAC-10 tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference. Thursday's game against Cal will be a good test to see if this is just a streak or if the team has actually grown as much as it seems over this season, and especially of late.

by Aubrey Wieber

Twitter:@aubreywieber