In becoming Oregons loudest cheerleader on the bench last season, injured guard Dylan Ennis found his voice as a leader.He was a graduate transfer from Villanova when he arrived in Eugene last year, expecting to play his final college season for the Ducks. But a stress fracture in his foot kept him off the court.Ennis appeared in just two games before aggravating the injury. He learned he would need surgery, effectively ending his season -- and perhaps his college career.I was so shocked. I couldnt believe it when they told me, Ennis said. I thought that with a broken foot I wouldnt be able to walk.He could only watch as Oregon won a school-record 31 games while claiming the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles. The Ducks earned their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2007.Down the line I realized I had to try to help the team any which way I could, Ennis said. But those first couple times when we lost -- it wasnt the losses that hurt, it was how we were reacting. I knew I wanted to play so bad, and I started seeing things, like we took it for granted. Guys wouldnt come out and play hard every day, and they would tell you the same thing.So what did Ennis do? He started cheering. And yelling. And shouting. Whatever it took.What I realized being on the sideline was how big of a voice I could have, he said. Id been a vocal leader all my life, but doing it from the sideline was something different. With me coming back this year and playing, I think it really helped. And I think its been contagious: Dillon Brooks has started to be a more vocal leader, and Chris Boucher. Even Casey Benson and Jordan Bell.This season the Ducks are ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25. Theyve been selected to finish atop the league in the Pac-12s annual media poll for the first time in school history.Oregon returns four of five starters from last seasons team, including Brooks, a junior forward who led the squad with 16.7 points per game.Brooks is expected to miss a few games at the start of the season because of a foot injury. The Ducks open at home Friday night against Army.It is expected that Tyler Dorsey, who averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35 starts as a freshman last season, will start with Ennis and Benson, as the Ducks go with a three-guard lineup in Brooks absence.Weve got good depth at the guard spots, and I think those guys will look at that as a challenge to pick up the areas that Dillon would generally do, he said.Ennis relishes the challenge. He laughs when asked his actual position: He sees himself as a point guard, but hell play wherever hes needed.In fact, hes just happy for the opportunity.Oregon applied to the NCAA to allow Ennis to play one more season for the Ducks after the broken foot. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard had taken a rather circuitous route to Eugene, playing his freshman season at Rice before transferring to Villanova, then finding his way to Oregon as a graduate transfer.Currently pursuing a masters degree in conflict and dispute resolution, Ennis heard in June that he had received an additional year of eligibility.He called it one of the best days of his life.Im one of the stories where I wasnt a one-and-done, he said. I wasnt a big talent to come out of a big city. Im one of the ones that had to go the long route. Most people have to go the long route. Its all about perseverance. Angels Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Wholesale Angels Jerseys . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. https://www.cheapangels.com/ . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Los Angeles Angels Shirts . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Custom Los Angeles Angels Jerseys .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. SPOKANE, Wash. -- Jordan Mathews missed a couple of shots early in No. 14 Gonzagas game against San Diego State.The guys said keep shooting, Mathews said.So he did.Mathews scored 17 points, going 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, and the Bulldogs beat San Diego State 69-48 while holding the Aztecs to 28 percent shooting Monday night.We executed our game plan, made them do what we wanted them to do, Mathews said.Zach Collins added 15 points and Nigel Williams-Goss 10 for Gonzaga (2-0) in the ESPN College Hoops Marathon game.Trey Kell and Jeremy Hemsley each had 14 points for San Diego State (1-1).The teams, which last played in 2010, have been among the most successful in the West in recent years. But on this night the Aztecs had trouble scoring, making only 16 of 56 shots and going long periods without a basket.Weve been working on that zone for a while, Mathews said about Gonzagas defense. It makes it really hard for anybody to score on us.Gonzaga won despite shooting just 39 percent.The defense was awesome, coach Mark Few said. They were flying around and anticipating, helping each other.Mathews is a graduate transfer from California who did not arrive on campus until September.On game night he raises his game up, Few said.San Diego State coach Steve Fisher thought the Aztecs hurt themselves.We lost our mental capacity to think at the offensive end, Fisher said.Everything we did was too fast, he added. It looked like we were trying to score 10 points in one possession, and you cant do that. We helped do ourselves in.The Aztecs made only five of their first 21 shots and fell behind 23-12.Mathews had a dunk and a 3-pointer during a 9-0 run to lift Gonzaga to a 344-17 lead.ddddddddddddGonzaga led 36-21 at halftime after holding the Aztecs to 20 percent shooting. They did not have a field goal in the final 6:27 of the first.We played a team tonight that is just as good as any team in the country, Fisher said. So in order for us to hang tough, you have to be able to shoot better than 20 percent.After San Diego State got within 10, Mathews sank a trio of 3-pointers in the span of a couple of minutes to push Gonzagas lead to 45-29.The Zags followed that with a 16-0 run, getting three baskets from Collins, for a 61-31 lead. The Aztecs were scoreless for more than 9 minutes, missing 11 shots from the field, and did not threaten again.POLL IMPLICATIONSSan Diego State was receiving votes in The Associated Press Top 25, but likely will get fewer now. ... Gonzaga has been No. 14 for two straight weeks and might move up.NO ASSISTSSan Diego State did not have an assist in the first half and wound up with only five in the game on 16 field goals. Gonzaga had 16 assists.BIG PICTURESan Diego State: The Aztecs came in with three straight victories in Spokane, beating Gonzaga in 2010 and winning two NCAA Tournament games here in 2014. But they couldnt muster much offense against the Zags.Gonzaga: A good early-season test for the Bulldogs, who proved they can beat a strong defensive team. Their 2010 loss to San Diego State was only their fifth home loss in the McCarthey Athletic Center since it opened in 2004.UP NEXTSan Diego State hosts San Diego Christian on Wednesday.Gonzaga hosts Bryant on Friday. ' ' '