USA - Leunen leads Ducks to win

EUGENE (NCAA) - Maarty Leunen became the latest player to lead Oregon's highly-regarded scoring attack on Tuesday.

Leunen scored 23 points as the No. 16 Ducks rolled to their fourth straight win, a 93-66 victory over Sacramento State in Eugene.

Falling one point shy of his career high, the senior forward shot eight of 10 from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Behind Leunen, Oregon topped 90 points for the fourth time this season, having entered the contest fourth in the nation in scoring at 89.3 points per game.

Joevan Catron had 20 points, Tajuan Porter 17 and Bryce Taylor 15 for the Ducks, who shot 51% (32 of 63) from the field, including 10 of 26 on three-pointers. The offensive fireworks continued despite the absence of Oregon's leading scorer Malik Hairston, who sat out after suffering a bruised right knee in Saturday's 75-64 win over Utah.

No. 24 Saint Mary's first game as a ranked team in 18 years did not go well as they lost 71-56 to Southern Illinois in Carbondale.

The Salukis snapped a three-game losing streak which had seen them drop out of the national rankings, but things almost got worse before they got better.

Southern Illinois appeared to be cruising when Matt Shaw split a pair of free throws to put them up, 51-32, with 14:49 to go. Known for their rugged defense, the Salukis should have had the game in hand, but the Gaels, enjoying their first time in the Top 25 since the 1988-89 season, ripped off a 20-4 run behind seven points from Patrick Mills and five from Tron Smith, closing the gap to 55-52 with 5:56 remaining.

Only then did the Salukis defense step up and do what they are known for. At the other end of the court, Bryan Mullins exploded to lead Southern Illinois to safety, scoring nine striaght points and 11 overall during a 13-0 run that pretty much sealed the contest.

Mullins finished with 24 points while Shaw had 13 and Joshua Bone added 10.

FIBA