The Oregon Ducks (11-3, 3-0 Pac-12) found itself locked in a tough contest against the Washington Huskies (8-6, 0-3 Pac-12) late in the fourth quarter. The two teams had traded baskets for the final couple minutes with neither team able to take a convincing lead. However, that changed on a drive and score from Jermaine Cousinard that gave the Ducks a two-point lead with just 12 seconds left in the game. The Huskies got a chance to win the game with a 3-pointer in the corner, but the shot was off and Oregon secured the rebound to take a hardfought 76-74 win.
The scoring in the game was opened by a 3-pointer from Cousinard that gave the Ducks an early lead. The Huskies then went on a 7-0 run with six of those points coming from their Sahvir Wheeler.
Oregon was forced to play from behind after that initial Washington run. Even after Oregon began to find its footing from the field, the Huskies were able to maintain their lead. Quick fouls from the Ducks, especially Cousinard, gave Washington an early advantage from the free throw line.
Despite poor shooting from Oregon throughout the first 10 minutes of the half, the Ducks were able to stay relatively close. The defense for Oregon was able to hold the Huskies to poor shooting. On the offensive end, the Ducks’ work on the offensive glass helped them get second chances on their possessions to help close the gap.
A putback layup from Kwame Evans Jr. was enough to allow Oregon to tie the game at 23 with just under five minutes left in the game. After a made jumpshot from Washington’s Keion Brooks Jr., the Ducks were able to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the game on a 3-pointer from Jackson Shelstad.
Fouls continued to haunt Oregon as it relinquished its newfound lead due to a 11-4 run from the Huskies that was helped by a couple trips to the free throw line. The run lasted the last four minutes of the first half and was punctuated by a last-second layup from Wheeler. The Ducks went into halftime trailing 36-30.
The second half began with both teams scoring in bunches. Mahamadou Diawara scored five points in the first five minutes of the half to help Oregon cut the lead to three points. However, Washington was able to stay ahead because of continued scoring excellence from Wheeler.
The Ducks were able to jump ahead of the Huskies during a fast 6-0 run. The stretch was punctuated by a dunk from Mookie Cook who was making his first appearance this season after missing the first eleven games with injury.
An incredible stretch that saw Oregon make nine straight shots from the field helped the Ducks push their lead up to 58-51 with just over 10 minutes left in the second half. Washington continued to be efficient from the field, but found it impossible to keep up with Oregon’s hot stretch.
The Huskies tried to chip away at the lead, but found themselves firmly in the backseat. However, Washington was able to find easy points at the free throw line almost at will to help survive stretches of poor shooting.
After an almost three minute stretch that saw both teams unable to make a shot from the field, the Huskies got two straight 3-pointers, the first from Wilhelm Breidenbach and the second from Koren Johnson. This gave Washington a small lead at 67-65 with just over three minutes left in the game.
The two teams went back and forth in the final minutes of the game. Oregon was able to hold a slight advantage after Brennan Rigsby made a 3-pointer to retake the lead, but were not able to put the Huskies away. A couple more baskets on both sides kept the game tied until Cousinard was able to make a layup with 12 seconds left in the game that gave the Ducks a 76-74 advantage. A miss from deep for Washington sealed the game for Oregon.
The Ducks got massive contributions from both freshmen in the games as Shelstad finished with 17 points and Evans had 15. Team captain Cousinard had 16 points, which included the game-winner. Evans and Cousinard also led the team with eight rebounds each.
Oregon has a day off before completing the Washington road trip. The Ducks play the Washington State Cougars on Saturday, January 6 at 7:00 p.m.
