University of Oregon
19-4, 8-2
Colorado
17-6, 6-4
First-place Ducks Avenge Loss To Colorado, 76-56
02/05/16 | Men's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Photo: Eric Evans
EUGENE, Ore. — Using stifling defense and efficient offense to overcome a poor shooting night, the Oregon men's basketball team beat Colorado, 76-56, on Thursday before 7,226 in Matthew Knight Arena.
How It Happened: The Ducks shot a modest .410 from the field, but they committed just six turnovers and held Colorado to .338 shooting on the night to win their fifth straight game. Back-to-back three-pointers by Chris Boucher and Tyler Dorsey jump-started the UO offense early, and a three minutes later by Casey Benson sparked a 13-0 run to provided Oregon some cushion.
A dunk by Josh Scott got Colorado within 26-16, before the Ducks rattled off a 14-5 run to end the first half. Oregon held the Buffs to .310 shooting in the first 20 minutes, and even had a 19-17 advantage on the boards, against the Pac-12's top rebounding team.
Colorado turned the tables underneath in the second half, scoring 16 of their 18 second-chance points after halftime. The Buffaloes put together a 13-2 run early in the half to close within 46-35, but Oregon scored on seven straight trips in response, with Dwayne Benjamin using a hesitation move to drive by Scott and convert for a 61-42 advantage.
Colorado's last surge closed the gap to 61-48. A Boucher block kept the Buffaloes from cutting further into the lead, and Benson scored in transition on the other end. Colorado then turned it over in the backcourt and Dillon Brooks nailed a three-pointer, giving the Ducks a 66-48 edge.
Who Stood Out: Elgin Cook led the Ducks with 18 points, in the process becoming the 34th player in school history to surpass 1,000 in his career. Boucher added seven points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots, giving him 78 blocks this season, already fifth in UO history for a career. Jordan Bell blocked three shots, giving him a UO career-record 117 in just 50 games. As a team the Ducks continued to take care of the ball, matching their season-low with six turnovers and finishing with seven or fewer for the third time in the last four games
What It Means: The Ducks (19-4, 8-2) maintained their one-game lead in the Pac-12 standings by avenging one of their two conference losses, Jan. 17 at Colorado.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, UO coach
On Oregon's recent lack of turnovers
“It's a priority for us. Guys who've watched us now, our turnovers early in the year led to a lot of easy baskets. With us handling the ball better, it really helps our defense.”
Casey Benson, UO sophomore
On avenging the previous loss to Colorado
“We just wanted to come out and had to be tougher tonight. We knew we couldn't do that again. Obviously we defended much better, rebounded much better than the first time.”
Dwayne Benjamin, UO senior
On Oregon's defensive effort
“We were flying around, hands up swatting at a lot of balls. It probably got them a little frustrated, but we were just trying to play defense and stop them from putting the ball in the hole.”
Notable: Boucher limped off with an ankle injury late in the game, which Altman called "a little bit of a tweak, hopefully." ... Oregon remained undefeated at home this season and stretched its win streak since last season in Matthew Knight Arena to 21 games, third-longest in school history. UO teams twice have won 23 straight at home, most recently in 2001-02. … The Ducks are 19-4 for the first time since 2006-07, and are 8-2 in conference play for the first time since 2001-02 — the last season Oregon won the regular-season conference title. … Colorado's 21 points at halftime were the fewest for a UO opponent in a half this season.
Up Next: The Ducks host Utah in Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN2).
