Thursday, January 25
Eugene, OR
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
14-5,6-2Pac-12
80
vs
61
Arizona State
11-8,5-3Pac-12
1
2
F
Arizona St.
33
28
61
Oregon
28
52
80
Photo by: Molly McPherson
Defensive Intensity Fuels 10th Home Win
01/25/24 | Men's Basketball
The Oregon men stayed perfect at home this season by using defensive intensity to fuel a comeback win over Arizona State, 80-61.
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon remained perfect at home this season and retained a share of first place in the Pac-12 Conference with an 80-61 men's basketball victory Thursday over Arizona State before 6,170 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (14-5, 6-2 Pac-12) endured a scoreless stretch of more than seven minutes in the first half, falling behind by as many as 10. But they shot nearly 70 percent in the second half, 18-of-26, to turn the tables and break a tie in the conference standings with the Sun Devils (11-8, 5-3).
"We took some questionable shots there — and that's being nice — that got us out of rhythm," UO coach Dana Altman said of the first-half cold stretch. "And defensively, we had eight deflections the whole first half; we had 27 the second half. That gives you an idea of the difference in the intensity."
Oregon trailed 42-38 early in the second half, then proceeded to make its next 13 field-goal attempts. A basket by Kwame Evans Jr. broke a 47-47 tie and sparked a 15-0 run that gave the Ducks the lead for good, with Keeshawn Barthelemy providing seven points in that stretch.
"It started with the defense — we got some stops, and then the basket got wider because we got some stops," Barthelemy said. "And we did a good job sharing the ball, making plays for each other."
Jermaine Couisnard scored 19 points to lead the Ducks, and N'Faly Dante added 16 points with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Barthelemy scored 12, and Nate Bittle had seven points in his return from a wrist injury.
How It Happened: After ASU scored to open the game, Bittle made a three-pointer on the first UO possession. With 15:01 left in the half, Dante scored to put the Ducks back in front by one, 10-9. But from there Oregon went 7:16 until scoring again, with ASU mounting an 11-0 run to lead 20-11. Dante finally ended Oregon's cold stretch with a dunk, and moments later a Jadrian Tracey three followed by a Barthelemy three-point play got the Ducks back within 24-21.
A bucket by Couisnard two possessions later made it 24-23, before ASU stretched the lead to 33-28 at halftime. At that point the Ducks seemed to have stabilized themselves, but they still were in a hole.
"I looked at everybody in the locker room, I could tell everybody wanted to win this game," Dante said. "We all knew what we needed to do, and everybody decided to play defense."
The Ducks scored on their first five possessions of the second half, the last a putback by Dante for a 38-38 tie. Oregon finally took its first lead since 10-9 when Evans hit a three for a 47-46 advantage, and after an ASU free throw tied it, Evans scored again. That gave the Ducks the lead for good and sparked the 15-0 run, with Evans passing to Barthelemy for a three-pointer on the next possession.
"He did a nice job there off the bench, really made a couple good plays for us," Altman said of Evans, a freshman who started 16 games before coming off the bench the last two. "KJ really wants to help the team."
Oregon's 10th straight made shot was a dunk by Dante to cap the 15-0 run for a 62-47 lead. After the teams traded scores for a few possessions, it was 65-52 when the UO men scored another nine straight to forge their biggest lead of the night at 74-52.
Up Next: The Ducks host the other team that entered this week tied for first in the Pac-12, Arizona, on Saturday (2:30 p.m., FOX).
The Ducks (14-5, 6-2 Pac-12) endured a scoreless stretch of more than seven minutes in the first half, falling behind by as many as 10. But they shot nearly 70 percent in the second half, 18-of-26, to turn the tables and break a tie in the conference standings with the Sun Devils (11-8, 5-3).
"We took some questionable shots there — and that's being nice — that got us out of rhythm," UO coach Dana Altman said of the first-half cold stretch. "And defensively, we had eight deflections the whole first half; we had 27 the second half. That gives you an idea of the difference in the intensity."
Oregon trailed 42-38 early in the second half, then proceeded to make its next 13 field-goal attempts. A basket by Kwame Evans Jr. broke a 47-47 tie and sparked a 15-0 run that gave the Ducks the lead for good, with Keeshawn Barthelemy providing seven points in that stretch.
"It started with the defense — we got some stops, and then the basket got wider because we got some stops," Barthelemy said. "And we did a good job sharing the ball, making plays for each other."
Jermaine Couisnard scored 19 points to lead the Ducks, and N'Faly Dante added 16 points with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Barthelemy scored 12, and Nate Bittle had seven points in his return from a wrist injury.
How It Happened: After ASU scored to open the game, Bittle made a three-pointer on the first UO possession. With 15:01 left in the half, Dante scored to put the Ducks back in front by one, 10-9. But from there Oregon went 7:16 until scoring again, with ASU mounting an 11-0 run to lead 20-11. Dante finally ended Oregon's cold stretch with a dunk, and moments later a Jadrian Tracey three followed by a Barthelemy three-point play got the Ducks back within 24-21.
A bucket by Couisnard two possessions later made it 24-23, before ASU stretched the lead to 33-28 at halftime. At that point the Ducks seemed to have stabilized themselves, but they still were in a hole.
"I looked at everybody in the locker room, I could tell everybody wanted to win this game," Dante said. "We all knew what we needed to do, and everybody decided to play defense."
The Ducks scored on their first five possessions of the second half, the last a putback by Dante for a 38-38 tie. Oregon finally took its first lead since 10-9 when Evans hit a three for a 47-46 advantage, and after an ASU free throw tied it, Evans scored again. That gave the Ducks the lead for good and sparked the 15-0 run, with Evans passing to Barthelemy for a three-pointer on the next possession.
"He did a nice job there off the bench, really made a couple good plays for us," Altman said of Evans, a freshman who started 16 games before coming off the bench the last two. "KJ really wants to help the team."
Oregon's 10th straight made shot was a dunk by Dante to cap the 15-0 run for a 62-47 lead. After the teams traded scores for a few possessions, it was 65-52 when the UO men scored another nine straight to forge their biggest lead of the night at 74-52.
Up Next: The Ducks host the other team that entered this week tied for first in the Pac-12, Arizona, on Saturday (2:30 p.m., FOX).
Team Stats
ASU
Oregon
FG%
.439
.509
3FG%
.235
.391
FT%
.636
.938
RB
27
35
TO
9
9
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
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