It seemed as if it might be Elgin Cook’s show Sunday.
Playing in his final home game, the senior followed up his game-high 24 points Wednesday against Washington State and scored 13 points in the first half to help the Ducks take control of its game with Washington early. And his driving one-handed slam over the reach of a Huskies defender set the tone for a night in which the energy was as high as it had been all season at Matthew Knight Arena.
ELGIN COOK WHAT DID THEY DO TO DESERVE THIS
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As the game wore on, though, it became clear that it wasn’t just Cook’s show. It was everyone’s, and behind a concerted effort from the Ducks’ eight-man rotation – five players scored 10 points or more — No. 13 Oregon pushed past Washington, 86-73, to remain atop the Pac-12 standings and finish the season undefeated at home.
“It was surreal,” Cook said of his Senior Night performance. “It was amazing.”
Despite committing 14 turnovers and shooting just 2-of-10 from the 3-point line, Oregon shot 53.7 percent from the field and used a myriad of quick runs to jump on a Washington team in desperate pursuit of a resume boosting win.
Cook finished his night with 26 points and seven rebounds. Dillon Brooks added 19, and Jordan Bell and Casey Benson each scored 12. In addition, the Ducks dominated Washington on the glass, winning the rebounding battle, 40-26, and limited Washington to just 39.7 percent shooting.
“Those are the two stats that are really important to us,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Points off turnovers, points in the paint, second chance points, we won all three of those categories, so those great stats for it.”
But, the Huskies didn’t lie down easily, and each time the Ducks seemed to be on the verge of breaking away, they responded. It first came after Cook’s emphatic dunk that gave Oregon a 20-15 lead. Washington guard Matisse Thybulle hit a 3-pointer on the following possession to cut the lead to two.
It happened again after the Ducks stretched their lead to six. Dejounte Murray hit a three from the corner. And after Chris Boucher tipped in a missed 3-pointer from Dwayne Benjamin to push Oregon’s lead to eight, David Crisp hit a three to cut the deficit to five.
And even after the Ducks scored seven straight points to open the second half and take a 47-32 lead, the deficit was cut to nine by the 15:22 mark after a couple of Washington 3-pointers.
Known for their 3-point shooting prowess, the Huskies made nine of its 25 attempts, and Murray and Thybulle combined for seven of them.
“We messed up on a couple switches and they got a couple open shots,” Benjamin said. “That’s just something that we’ll have to work on.”
But, consistently staying with the pace the Ducks were running at proved to be too much of a challenge. It didn’t help that the sellout crowd seemed to only get louder as the game moved along, especially after Dillon Brooks punctuated an 8-0 run by making a lay up and drawing a foul to extend Oregon’s lead back to 15 with 12:39 remaining.
Behind Andrew Andrews’ 21 points, the Huskies would cut that lead to as little as six. But, that would be the closest the score got, and the Ducks closed out the the game on a 19-12 run.
The win helped the Ducks secure an undefeated record at home in a season for just the fifth time their history. Now, Cook is just hoping that the Ducks can translate that energy on the road.
“We just want to finish out strong and take our home mentality on the road,” Cook said.
There was an obvious contrast in the way the Ducks played their last three home games compared to their back-to-back losses at Cal and Stanford in early February. It’s why Altman’s voice raised a notch when asked about the group’s focus looking ahead.
“UCLA,” Altman said. “That’s all we need to think about.”
It’s no secret that Oregon is two wins away from clinching its first Pac-12 regular season championship since 2002. One win would clinch the Ducks at least a share of it. But, based on the Ducks’ last road trip, it’s obvious that it won’t be an easy task.
“It’s going to be difficult,” Altman said. “It’s our last road trip and our focus has to be one thing, UCLA.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise