University of Oregon
21-6, 10-4
Oregon State
15-10, 6-8
Ducks Slam Door On Beavers, Reclaim Share Of First Place
02/21/16 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Photo: Eric Evans
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon reclaimed a share of first place in the Pac-12, evened the score in this year's Civil War series and matched the longest home win streak in school history with a 91-81 victory over Oregon State on Saturday before 12,364 in a soldout Matthew Knight Arena.
How It Happened: The 16th-ranked Ducks blitzed the Beavers from the start, scoring a season-high 51 first-half points to build a 23-point lead by the break. The win was Oregon's 23rd straight at home, matching a school-record streak set twice before, and it put the UO men (21-6, 10-4) back into a tie for first in the Pac-12 with Arizona.
The Ducks led by as many as 25 on two occasions in the second half. Oregon State (15-10, 6-8) finished the game on a 15-1 run to make the final score more respectable.
After a back-and-forth start, Oregon took advantage of early foul trouble by Oregon State's starting guards. Gary Payton II and Malcolm Duvivier each was on the bench with two fouls before the first half was 10 minutes old; Oregon led 10-9 when Duvivier picked up his second and was pulled, and stretched the lead to 24-12 before Payton returned. Dillon Brooks hit a three-pointer and Tyler Dorsey converted a three-point play to cap the 14-3 run.
Dorsey finished another three-point play during a 10-0 run by Oregon to a 38-18 lead, which was capped by a pretty assist underneath the basket by Brooks to Elgin Cook for a dunk. Dorsey scored on the final possession of the half for a 51-28 lead, giving him 15 points at the break.
Who Stood Out: Dorsey matched his season-high with 25 points, on 9-of-16 shooting. He led four players in double figures, joined by Brooks (17), Cook (16) and Chris Boucher (14). Boucher led the Ducks with nine rebounds, while Casey Benson had five assists and a career-high five rebounds.
What It Means: The Ducks emphatically avenged their loss in Corvallis to open conference play this season, and also bounced back from their subpar performances in losses at California and Stanford last week.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, UO coach
On his team's effort overall
“Our activity was really good. In the first half we did a really good job of flying to the ball, and I think we were up six on the boards. … And the ability to keep it around 20 in the second half until late there was good.”
Elgin Cook, UO senior
On bouncing back from the Bay Area trip
“It sucks that had to be our wakeup call, dropping two games. We won't want that feeling again. We don't want to lose any games.”
Chris Boucher, UO senior
On Dorsey's big night
“Tyler needed that game. We kept telling him, 'Just play. In preseason you were in attack mode.' … Today he was fired up. He went out before in practice and was shooting, and he was ready to play.”
Notable: Oregon's previous 23-game home win streaks were accomplished between Feb. 13, 1937 and Jan. 6, 1939, and Nov. 15, 2001 and Dec. 28, 2002. … Oregon was plus-five on the boards (33-28), after being minus-five in Corvallis on Jan. 3. … The Ducks' .879 free-throw shooting (29-of-33) was their best in conference play this season. … Oregon blocked seven shots in the game, giving the Ducks a school-record 162 for the season, breaking the year-old record.
Up Next: Oregon hosts Washington State in Matthew Knight Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
