Couisnard's 39 Not Enough Against No. 6 Arizona

Saturday, March 2

Tucson, AZ

11:00 AM

University of Oregon

19-10,11-7Pac-12

103

Arizona

23-6,14-4Pac-12

Oregon

Arizona

103

03/02/24 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oregon guard Jermaine Couisnard scored a career-high 39 points but No. 6 Arizona's offense proved stronger as the Ducks were handed a 103-83 loss on the road on Saturday afternoon.

Couisnard scored 33 of his points in the second half, leading Oregon (19-10, 11-7 Pac-12) as it attempted to erase a formidable 21-point deficit at halftime. The Wildcats (23-7, 14-4 Pac-12) shot 61-percent on the day, including 14-for-25 from behind the arc to push past the Ducks. A 34-9 scoring run by Arizona midway through the first half put Oregon behind, but the Ducks battled back to cut the lead to 15 in the second half before the Wildcats dealt the deciding blow.

Couisnard finished the game shooting 14-for-24 (58.3-percent) from the floor with four triples. Jackson Shelstad and N'Faly Dante each finished the game with 16 points, combining with Couisnard to score 86-percent of the Ducks' total. Dante finished the game with a double-double, his fifth of the season.

How It Happened: Oregon's defense caused trouble for Arizona early as the Ducks forced three turnovers in the opening three minutes that helped them build a 7-5 lead just before the first media timeout. It was at this point the Arizona guards caught fire as the Wildcats sank 14 of their next 17 attempts from the field to outscore Oregon 34-9 across a 9:40 stretch, opening a 25-point lead.

Arizona shot 65-percent (20-of-31) from the floor and 73-percent (8-of-11) from three in the first half. Dante and Shelstad did their best to limit the damage, combining to score 22 points at Oregon entered the break trailing 51-30.

After the teams traded buckets coming out of halftime, Oregon found some momentum as it made seven-straight attempts to cut the lead to 17 with 12:53 remaining. A minute later Couisnard drove to the lane for a layup to cut the lead to 15 and force an Arizona timeout, but the Wildcats scored nine of the game's next 13 points to thwart the comeback effort.

Couisnard was responsible for 10 of the Ducks' final 13 field goals in the game, scoring 26 points in the final 12 minutes. Couisnard became the first Duck to score 39-or-more points in nearly two decades, last achieved by Luke Jackson who scored 40 against Colorado on March 17, 2004.

Up Next: The Ducks return to Eugene for their final homestand of the season, beginning with Colorado on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT.