Sunday, January 27
Eugene, OR
5:00 PM
University of Oregon
12-8, 3-4
78
vs
58
Washington State
8-12, 1-6
1
2
F
Washington St.
39
19
58
Oregon
35
43
78
Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
Second-Half Explosion Fuels Ducks
01/27/19 | Men's Basketball
Oregon shot 61.5 percent and buckled down defensively in the second half to beat Washington State on Sunday, 78-58.
EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon men's basketball team endured torrid first-half shooting by Washington State before blowing out the Cougars in the second half of a 78-58 victory on Sunday before 8,929 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks in the first half surrendered 17-of-22 shooting — including 10 straight at one point — but clamped down defensively after halftime and shot better than 60 percent from the field to run away with it. Oregon (12-8, 3-4 Pac-12) cruised to victory three days after nearly knocking off Washington but losing in the final seconds.
"We just needed to win a game," UO coach Dana Altman said. "We've lost four games at home. …. Those hurt. We've got to learn from it and we've got to get better. Now we've got to go on the road and really play well."
How It Happened: After WSU scored the first two baskets of the game, three different Ducks scored during a 10-2 run that put Oregon up 10-9, and Payton Pritchard shrugged off his turnover late in the UW game with a smooth transition three-pointer for a 13-9 lead. But after Kenny Wooten blocked a shot with 13:12 left in the first half, WSU made 10 straight field-goal attempts, giving the Cougars a 35-30 lead.
"We played defense very poorly in the first half," Wooten said. "And I can't lie, they were hot. But our (struggles) defensively helped that."
After the first 20 minutes Oregon trailed 39-35, and "coach got on us at the half in the locker room," senior guard Ehab Amin said. The Ducks had just shot 48.3 percent and committed just three turnovers, but found themselves trailing after WSU shot 77.3 percent.
Altman's message was received loud and clear. After the teams traded three-pointers early in the second half, Oregon went on another 10-2 run, capped by a dunk and then a layin from Louis King. The Ducks led 48-44, and never trailed again.
It was 58-53 when the Ducks turned up the heat defensively, holding WSU without a field goal for 6:15 and without a point for 5:19. Pritchard hit a layup off a turnover for a 68-53 lead, and though WSU finally broke through with a field goal at the other end, King hit a three-pointer to spark a late 7-0 run that put Oregon up by 20.
The Ducks ran out the final few seconds after Pritchard's career-high sixth steal of the game. He also combined with backcourt mate Will Richardson for 14 assists against zero turnovers.
"That's big-time for us," Amin said. "That's what we've been needing lately. They really handled the ball well today and made plays for others who shot the ball extremely well. That opens up the floor for Kenny inside, and Paul (White) as well."
Who Stood Out: King scored 22 points and Wooten added 20, each tying his career high. White added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Amin was active on the boards as well with five.
Pritchard had six points, eight assists and three rebounds to go along with his six steals. He became the sixth player in UO history with at least 1,000 career points and 400 career assists, joining Ron Lee, Kenya Wilkins, Luke Ridnour, Luke Jackson and Aaron Brooks.
What It Means: The Ducks once again proved their resiliency, bouncing back from Thursday's heartbreaker against UW just as they did by beating USC following an overtime loss to UCLA. The challenge going forward is to string together positive performances and build momentum in the second half of the season.
Notable: Pritchard's six steals not only were a career high, they tied the Matthew Knight Arena record set Feb. 1, 2014, by Joseph Young against Southern California. … Richardson made his sixth start of the season, replacing Victor Bailey Jr., who had started the previous seven straight. … Bailey came into the game having last made a field goal late in Oregon's win Jan. 17 at Arizona. He sunk his second shot Sunday, breaking an 0-for-15 streak.
Up Next: The Ducks go on the road to play at Utah on Thursday (6 p.m., FS1).
The Ducks in the first half surrendered 17-of-22 shooting — including 10 straight at one point — but clamped down defensively after halftime and shot better than 60 percent from the field to run away with it. Oregon (12-8, 3-4 Pac-12) cruised to victory three days after nearly knocking off Washington but losing in the final seconds.
"We just needed to win a game," UO coach Dana Altman said. "We've lost four games at home. …. Those hurt. We've got to learn from it and we've got to get better. Now we've got to go on the road and really play well."
How It Happened: After WSU scored the first two baskets of the game, three different Ducks scored during a 10-2 run that put Oregon up 10-9, and Payton Pritchard shrugged off his turnover late in the UW game with a smooth transition three-pointer for a 13-9 lead. But after Kenny Wooten blocked a shot with 13:12 left in the first half, WSU made 10 straight field-goal attempts, giving the Cougars a 35-30 lead.
"We played defense very poorly in the first half," Wooten said. "And I can't lie, they were hot. But our (struggles) defensively helped that."
After the first 20 minutes Oregon trailed 39-35, and "coach got on us at the half in the locker room," senior guard Ehab Amin said. The Ducks had just shot 48.3 percent and committed just three turnovers, but found themselves trailing after WSU shot 77.3 percent.
Altman's message was received loud and clear. After the teams traded three-pointers early in the second half, Oregon went on another 10-2 run, capped by a dunk and then a layin from Louis King. The Ducks led 48-44, and never trailed again.
It was 58-53 when the Ducks turned up the heat defensively, holding WSU without a field goal for 6:15 and without a point for 5:19. Pritchard hit a layup off a turnover for a 68-53 lead, and though WSU finally broke through with a field goal at the other end, King hit a three-pointer to spark a late 7-0 run that put Oregon up by 20.
The Ducks ran out the final few seconds after Pritchard's career-high sixth steal of the game. He also combined with backcourt mate Will Richardson for 14 assists against zero turnovers.
"That's big-time for us," Amin said. "That's what we've been needing lately. They really handled the ball well today and made plays for others who shot the ball extremely well. That opens up the floor for Kenny inside, and Paul (White) as well."
Who Stood Out: King scored 22 points and Wooten added 20, each tying his career high. White added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Amin was active on the boards as well with five.
Pritchard had six points, eight assists and three rebounds to go along with his six steals. He became the sixth player in UO history with at least 1,000 career points and 400 career assists, joining Ron Lee, Kenya Wilkins, Luke Ridnour, Luke Jackson and Aaron Brooks.
What It Means: The Ducks once again proved their resiliency, bouncing back from Thursday's heartbreaker against UW just as they did by beating USC following an overtime loss to UCLA. The challenge going forward is to string together positive performances and build momentum in the second half of the season.
Notable: Pritchard's six steals not only were a career high, they tied the Matthew Knight Arena record set Feb. 1, 2014, by Joseph Young against Southern California. … Richardson made his sixth start of the season, replacing Victor Bailey Jr., who had started the previous seven straight. … Bailey came into the game having last made a field goal late in Oregon's win Jan. 17 at Arizona. He sunk his second shot Sunday, breaking an 0-for-15 streak.
Up Next: The Ducks go on the road to play at Utah on Thursday (6 p.m., FS1).
Team Stats
WSU
ORE
FG%
.543
.545
3FG%
.353
.385
FT%
.500
.800
RB
24
24
TO
17
7
STL
2
10
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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