Ducks Use California Connection to Stop USC

Saturday, February 11

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:30 PM

University of Oregon

22-4, 11-2

USC

21-5, 8-5

Oregon

USC

02/11/17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Oregon-USC Box Score Oregon Ducks Season Stats

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Dorsey hit a pair of three-pointers in the final three minutes after all-American Dillon Brooks fouled out to help No. 5 Oregon overcome a spirited USC squad 81-70 Saturday night at the Galen Center.

The Los Angeles native finished with 19 points and Brooks added 21 for the Ducks (22-4, 11-2), who defeated USC (21-5, 8-5) for the 14^th consecutive time.

Another L.A. native, Jordan Bell, led the charge at the defensive end with 14 rebounds, giving him 29 on the two-game trip to Southern California.

How It Happened: Brooks fouled USC's Bennie Boatwright with 3:28 left to play for his fifth foul, and Boatwright made the ensuing free throws to cut Oregon's lead to 68-65.

Dorsey and USC's Elijah Stewart traded three-pointers, before Bell dropped in a lay-in and Dorsey struck with another triple that pushed Oregon's lead to 76-68. Bell and Dylan Ennis each made a pair of free throws in the final 67 seconds to ice the win.

Brooks helped Oregon hold a 35-33 halftime edge with 12 first-half points, while Bell was active on the boards with nine rebounds.

Oregon led by as many as 11 in the opening period before the Trojans rallied with a 16-7 run over the final 4:40. The Ducks allowed USC to shoot just 13.3 percent from three-point range (2-of-15) in the half.

Who Stood Out: Team defense took center stage as Oregon made the most of its transition game, scoring 23 points off of 16 USC turnovers. The Ducks also held the Trojans to 22.2 percent from beyond the arc (6-of-27).

Bell had 12 points and four assists to go with the 14 rebounds, while Ennis scored 12 points. Both Ennis and Dorsey corralled five rebounds, while Kavell Bigby-Williams had three rebounds and a bucket in an important five minutes as the Ducks faced foul trouble nearly the entire game.

What It Means: The Ducks kept pace with Arizona (12-1) in the Pac-12 race. Oregon's 22-4 record is the program's best since going 24-2 90 years ago in 1926-27. The Ducks' 11-2 conference mark is the program's best since the 1939 NCAA Champion Tall Firs, which opened Pacific Coast Conference play at 11-2.

Quotable:
Head coach Dana Altman
"We won the battle on the boards and did a good job creating turnovers and taking advantage of them."

Guard Tyler Dorsey
"When Dillon fouled out, we still had the confidence that we would find a way to win. We had a "next man up" mentality."

Ducks-Bruins Produces Top Rankings for ESPN: Thursday night's Oregon at UCLA game produced ESPN's best Pac-12 Conference overnight ratings on record. It was also the most-streamed Pac-12 Conference game. The Ducks-Bruins delivered a 1.2 overnight rating and had an average streaming audience of 55,000 viewers. Portland earned a 3.6 overnight share for the game, the market's highest rating for a college basketball game on ESPN, including conference tournament games. In Los Angeles, the thriller earned a 2.6 overnight, which was the market's best since 2008 for a regular season college basketball game on ESPN.

Notable: USC was the third straight 20-win opponent faced by Oregon. … Oregon's current six-year win total (155) is the best in program history. … With one blocked shot, Bell moved to fourth in UO single-season blocked shots with 54. … Bell recorded his fourth double-double of the season and his sixth career. … The Ducks' current streak of 14 straight wins over USC is Oregon's longest ever against any Pac-12 opponent. … Among active streaks, the 14 games is second only to a current 15-game winning streak versus Gonzaga (1931-present).

Up Next: The Ducks return to Eugene for the final two home games of the 2016-17 season. First up is Utah on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN).