DUCKS' TAYLOR IS ALL HIT, NO MISS PERFECT SHOOTING LEADS TO 32 POINTS FOR OREGON.

Byline: JILL PAINTER

Staff Writer

Bryce Taylor hit a 3-pointer from the baseline. He hit onefrom the wing. He drove the lane on a fastbreak and dunked. He nailed a jump shot. He made all of his free throws.

Taylor couldn't miss.

He didn't miss.

Taylor, one of the unsung heroes in Oregon's star-studded backcourt, didn't demand the ball, but his teammates made sure he got it anyway. Taylor was perfect from the field as he scored a career-high 32 points and made all 11 of his shots. He made all seven of his 3-point attempts and each of his threefree throws to lead Oregon to a dominating 81-57 victory over USC on Saturday in the final of the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament.

"I didn't plan on shooting the ball like that," Taylor said. "It's just one of those things that happens over the course of the game."

Just not that often.

Oregon coach Ernie Kent called Taylor's performance one of the most phenomenal he'd seen in college, and that was before he knew Taylor hadn't missed a shot. USC coach Tim Floyd echoed a similar statement.

"We didn't know he didn't miss a shot, but we knew he was on, so we tried to milk him," Oregon guard Tajuan Porter said.

The scene couldn't have been more perfect for Taylor, who grew up in Encino and played in front of his grandparents, parents, four siblings, former teammates at Harvard-Westlake and the rest of the country on national TV.

"We see this all the time," Ducks center Maarty Leunen said of Taylor. "It was great he could show the country what kind of player he is."

When Kent took Taylor out of the game with 6:33 left, the two hugged. Oregon fans, sitting in the section behind the bench, gave him a standing ovation.

Brendyn Taylor, Bryce's 12-year-old brother, was sporting a No. 4 jersey just like this brother and jumped up and down in his chair. He'd seen days like this during summer hoops workouts, but this was special.

"He can light it up," Brendyn Taylor said of his brother. "He can go through 100 shots and make all of them. It's great to see him lighting it up in a game."

Bryce went into the stands and handed his brother the all-tournament team trophy he won. Taylor didn't get any hardware from the Pac-10 regular season, and he wasn't thrilled about that.

"Sometimes I feel overlooked and underrated, especially when I'm always guarding an opponent's best player," he said. "I didn't even make honorable mention all-Pac-10. A lot of people would say it doesn't bother them, but (I will). ... Hopefully, this gives people the opportunity to see what I can do."

Usually, Taylor doesn't have the opportunity. With Aaron Brooks, Porter (the tournament MVP) and Malik Hairston, there's not enough shots to go around. So, Taylor concentrated on defense.

"Thirty-two points on 11shots, that's pretty good," Taylor said. "I don't need that many shots to score points."

Taylor also made a big point on defense, holding his friend Nick Young to 10 points.

The two joked with each other after the game, but Taylor had the last laugh.

"(Young) told me he was going to score 26, and I told him he was going to score 10," Taylor said. "I guess I was right."

Just like he was the entire game.

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Oregon's Bryce Taylor, a Harvard-Westlake product, made all 11 of his shots in the Ducks' win.

Matt Sayless/Associated Press