The Oregon men’s basketball team (23-8, 10-8 Pac-12) extended their winning streak to eight games following their first round victory against Oregon State (16-15, 8-10) in the Pac-12 tournament. Including the regular season, the Ducks finished the season 2-1 against the Beavers. They are now set to face No. 2 seed UCLA in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST.
The Ducks got off to a slow start in the first half. Down 9-0 at the 16:20 mark, the Ducks didn’t look sharp offensively and allowed the Beavers to have their way inside. But following three consecutive Elgin Cook steals in the ensuing minutes, the Ducks quickly retook the lead and momentum of the game. The Beavers ended the half with 10 turnovers and trailed the Ducks 41-40 despite shooing 74 percent from the field.
During the first half, Dominic Artis and Ben Carter were pivotal on both ends of the floor. Midway through the half, the two were a combined 5-of-5 from the floor for 12 points and were fueling the Ducks on defense. Prior to this game, Artis and Carter had a combined eight games of scoring over five points individually.
“We’re getting a lot of contributions from a lot of people,” Dana Altman said following the game in an interview with Pac-12 networks.
The second half belonged to the Ducks. While the Beavers didn’t record a field goal from 14:25-6:02, the Ducks managed to take advantage and jump out to a double-digit lead. Amid this run, Joseph Young scored five consecutive layups — scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half — that not only got him going, but allowed the Ducks to solidify control of the game.
“When I saw that (his all-Pac-12 second-team selection) the first time, I wasn’t really harping off of it,” Young told Pac-12 networks. “But it’s statement time. They (the Pac-12) didn’t think I was good enough for the first-team and I’m just going to show it. We’ve just got to communicate on defense. Our offense is going to come, it’s just about our defense.”
Despite shooting 36 free throws (making 25) and finishing the game 60.5 percent from the floor, the Beavers would eventually fall short. Considering they finished 10th in the Pac-12 and had a losing record in conference play, this is likely the end of the road for the Beavers.
It was another good outing for the Ducks on the defensive end. In addition to their 10-of-16 (63 percent) shooting from beyond the arc, the Ducks won the game by limiting Eric Moreland, who finished with just six points on 2-of-4 shooting, and forcing turnovers. While the Beavers still finished with four players in double-figures, it was the transition opportunities that led the Ducks to the win in the end.
Leading the way for the Ducks were Jason Calliste and Young. Young finished with a team-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Calliste added 17 points respectively. The two shot a combined 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
“It feels good just to get to the win,” Young said. “We’ve got three more games to go; we’re just taking it one game at a time. It’s great to come here and give our fans what they want.”
For the Beavers, Roberto Nelson and Angus Brandt led the way. Brandt finished with a game-high 20 points, going 3-of-3 from the outside, while Nelson added 19 points of his own. As expected, the two played huge roles for the Beavers Wednesday night but just could not limit the Ducks on the perimeter in their third matchup.
Tomorrow, the Ducks will be facing a UCLA team that is coming off of a 73-55 loss to Washington State this past Saturday. In their last matchup against the Bruins, the Ducks came away with an 87-83 double overtime victory in Los Angeles.
“They’ll be tough,” Altman said of UCLA. “They’re very well-coached; Steve Alford does a great job. Offensively, they’re the most talented offensive team in the league. They’re the best offensive team. It’s going to take an extraordinary effort for us to hang with them. We’re going to have to play our A game.”
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Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim