Second Half Rally Lifts Ducks Over Fresno State

Saturday, December 16

Fresno, CA

3:00 PM

University of Oregon

9-3

Fresno State

9-3

Oregon

Fresno State

12/16/17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Oregon-Fresno State Box Score 2017-18 Season Stats

The Ducks rallied from 12 points down in the second half to defeat Fresno State 68-61 in their first true road game of the season.

FRESNO, Calif. – The Oregon men's basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit at halftime to defeat Fresno State 68-61 in their first true road game of the season at the Save Mart Center in front of 9,225 fans.

How it Happened: It was a less than eventful start for the Ducks (9-3) as Fresno State (9-3) jumped ahead 5-0 to open the game and did not relinquish the lead the entire first half.

UO pulled within one twice, but could not capitalize due to a six-minute scoring drought midway through the half. Elijah Brown looked to put the Ducks on level terms with a big three-pointer to make it 27-26, but back-to-back three-pointers from FSU's Jahmal Taylor gave Fresno State a quick seven-point cushion.

The Bulldogs closed out the first half leading 38-28 shooting 48 percent from the floor in the period, 5-of-10 from three-point range, compared to the Ducks' 29 percent.

In the second half, Elijah Brown picked up right where he left off opening the period with a three-pointer to spark an 8-0 run for the Ducks and make it 40-36 early on.

Fresno State's hot-shooting from beyond the arc kept the Ducks at arm's-length early in the second half, until an 11-0 run capped off by an Elijah Brown layup gave UO their first lead of the game, 53-51, with 7:04 left to play.

From there Oregon never looked back, extending their lead to 64-52 thanks to a 22-1 run. Fresno State went nearly the entire final 12 minutes without a bucket shooting 6-of-25 in the second half.

UO outscored FSU 40-23 in the second half shooting 48 percent from the floor.

Who Stood Out: Elijah Brown led the team with 20 points, going 4-of-5 from three-point range … Freshman Kenny Wooten recorded his second career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds … Wooten also finished with six blocks, tying his career-high and marking his third straight game with at least four blocks. He has 16 blocks over the last three games … Payton Pritchard extended his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games with 12 points … Troy Brown nearly got his fourth straight double-double finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Notable: The Ducks dominated under the rim out-rebounding Fresno State 44-33 while out-scoring the Bulldogs 34-18 in the paint … UO took advantage of Fresno State's 14 turnovers scoring 19 points off the Bulldogs' miscues … As a team the Ducks had 12 blocks, one shy of the team record.

Quotable:
Head Coach Dana Altman
On Kenny Wooten's performance…
"Kenny (Wooten) was the difference in the game. He really gave us a big lift offensively and defensively. His energy really got us going."

Freshman Forward Troy Brown Jr
On what it takes to win…
"For us to win games, we have to rebound and play defense."

On Oregon's first half struggles…
"I felt like in the first half we were forcing shots."

Up Next: The Ducks return to Matthew Knight Arena for their final non-conference game of the season against Central Arkansas Wednesday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks).