The Oregon men’s basketball team defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 91-73 in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal in Las Vegas on Thursday. The Ducks extended their winning streak to six and will move on to the Pac-12 tournament semifinals.  

The Ducks came out swarming on defense, holding the Sun Devils to five points in the first six minutes. 

But the Sun Devils dominated the paint early on, flexing a plus-eight rebounding margin to take a 17-15 lead on back-to-back second-chance buckets. Oregon fought back, as Eugene Omoruyi drove the lane and dumped an entry pass to Chandler Lawson who restored the Ducks lead. 19-17. 

After a short break, the Ducks took control of the contest. The three-ball wasn’t falling, but the Ducks perimeter players fought their way into the paint for multiple tough layups. Will Richardson started the run with a put-back layup, followed by Omoruyi finishing a fast-break with an and-one layup. 

Omoruyi missed the free-throw, but Eric Williams pulled down the rebound and put in another layup. Another easy finish for L.J. Figueroa capped off a 10-0 run, giving the Ducks a 29-19 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. 

The remaining minutes in the first half had a much faster tempo. Oregon and Arizona State traded baskets and the Ducks took a 35-27 lead into the break. 

Richardson led in scoring with 13 points, shooting 5/7 from the field. The Ducks shot 50% from the field through the first half. 

The Ducks extended their lead to double-digits as Figueroa hit a deep three from the right-wing. But Arizona State came right back with six unanswered points on two threes right-corner threes from Holland Woods.

Right as the Sun Devils were finding momentum, Chris Duarte dribbled into a three from the left-wing for his first of the game, restoring Oregon’s lead to nine with 15 minutes left. 44-35. 

Richardson continued to dissect the Sun Devils zone. He drove the lane and dropped a pass to a cutting Figueroa who finished with a layup, giving him a game-high 14 points. Williams followed with another layup as the Ducks went on a 9-0 run extending their lead to 52-35.  

It took until the 12-minute mark of the second half for Sun Devils all-Pac-12 guard Remy Martin to knock down his first three, which cut Oregon’s lead to 10. 

The Ducks weren’t phased, as they stayed true to their gameplan: interior scoring. Lawson checked into the game and provided three straight layups. His assertive play inside complimented Williams’ incisive drives and flashy dishes that led to open layups. Oregon extended their lead to 58-46 with 10 minutes remaining. 

The collective offensive barrage continued as Amari Hardy added a left-handed layup followed by a three from the left corner off of a silky drive-and-kick from Richardson. Richardson played with impressive vision as he drove the lane again and found Omoruyi who capped off the play with a thunderous dunk. 

With seven minutes remaining Richardson found Omoruyi once again for a pick-and-pop three, giving him his eighth assist of the contest and the Ducks a 73-56 lead. 

Hardy continued to penetrate the Sun Devils’ vulnerable defense with another layup on the left side. Then, Figueroa added another three from the corner off of a dish from Richardson, giving the senior a season-high 21 points. The Ducks led 84-60 with three minutes remaining. 

They didn’t look back from there, as Oregon went on to win 91-73. The Ducks dominated inside with 48 points in the paint and continued their efficient shooting as they shot 59% from the field and 56% from behind the arc. Figueroa led all scorers with 21, while Omoruyi added 15. 

Richardson had one of his best all-around performances with 17 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and two steals. He shot 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. 

The Ducks advance to the Pac-12 semifinals where they’ll face the winner of UCLA and Oregon State tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.