He may have scored just five points in the second half against Washington on Thursday, but Oregon guard James Davis was instrumental in Oregon’s win over Washington.
The Vancouver, Wash., native scored 14 points in the first half on the strength of four three-pointers. When Oregon forward Luke Jackson started off slow, Davis surged ahead, nailing all four of those three-pointers within a three-minute span.
“James was a tremendous spark because I think we were a little out of sync,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “He’s been unreal at practice and at games.”
His 19 points continued a hot streak that has spanned five of the last six games. It began with 14 points against Alabama Dec. 20 and continued on to Oregon’s 90-81 loss to Oregon State last Saturday.
His only slow night came against UCLA Jan. 4 when Davis scored eight points against the Bruins.
So far this season, he has scored double-digit points six of the 10 games he’s played in, all of those coming off the bench.
The 19 points were two points shy of his season-high 21 against the University of Southern California. That mark of 21 earlier this season also tied a career-high, set against Washington State and Grambling State in 2002.
“The coaches have the utmost confidence in me right now,” Davis said. “My teammates are finding me and I credit my big men for setting great screens and giving me the looks I’m getting.”
Davis came into the game a little more than midway through the first half. He knocked down his first three-pointer at the 12:03 mark, pulling the Ducks to within three, 18-15.
Less than a minute later, he tied the score with his second three-pointer of the game, then put Oregon up 30 seconds later with another.
Andre Joseph got the chance for a field goal with 10:13 left, then gave way for Davis, who promptly knocked down one from beyond the arc with 9:31 left, pushing the Ducks to a three-point advantage.
He ended the half with a simple two-pointer from inside the paint with 3:45.
That’s a spark for you.
“When James gets hot like that, he’s tough,” Jackson said. “He’s just going to drain those threes. A couple of those were open shots and a couple of those, there was a guy in his face. He’s just a dangerous weapon when he gets hot.
“He’s capable of doing that every night. When he gets his feet set, he’s in a good rhythm and he gets his confidence, he can shoot it as good as anybody.”
The Huskies might as well have held Davis’ hand during the second half, making sure to keep him from getting the perimeter shot. Washington made sure to guard him heavily, keeping Davis to one three-pointer — a shot that came with 6:14 left in the game and put Oregon up 71-58.
A set of free throws as the game wound down gave him 19 points, his second-highest point total this season.
Davis’ five three-pointers on the night gave him 37 on the season, including 19 during Oregon’s four Pacific-10 Conference games. He’s also now averaging 13.2 points per game this season, 16.3 in the Pac-10.
“I get excited when I see him wide open and there was a play in the second half when I drove baseline and I saw his guy collapsed on me,” Jackson said. “I threw it out to him and I just held my hands up. I just felt like I knew it was going to go in.
“Those are just kind of special moments that you just enjoy it while you’re out on the floor. You make a pass and you know the crowd’s going to erupt.”