With nine minutes to go in the first half, N’Faly Dante gave his team a 10-point lead. A forced turnover led to an emphatic dunk on the other end.
Defensive plays leading to electric offense was a common theme in the first half of Oregon’s 85-80 win over Washington (12-11, 4-8 Pac-12).
The Ducks (16-7, 8-4 Pac-12) came into the matchup fresh off a 71-63 loss to UCLA last weekend. Oregon started slow in that one, with the Bruins leading 22-5 early. The Ducks were hoping to set the tone with a better start against the Huskies.
Even though it was an improved beginning in the scoring column, Oregon struggled from the floor early on. While the offense was still finding its rhythm, it was the Ducks’ defense that kept the score tight. It forced three-straight Washington turnovers in the first few minutes of the contest.
In the first six minutes alone, Oregon forced six Husky turnovers. Although the Ducks were shooting below 50% from the field, their pesky defense sparked a 9-0 run.
Washington finished the first half with 10 turnovers. Oregon scored 17 points off of the Huskies’ mistakes in that period.
“I feel like that’s our strength, just getting a lot of deflections,” Couisnard said. “I feel like that just gives us the ability to run and just play our game.”
During a brief five-minute period when Washington took care of the ball, Oregon’s northern foes went on a mini-run. The Huskies went 3-of-3 on field goals in the middle of that stretch. Then, they gifted it to the Ducks once again. Jermaine Couisnard pulled the trigger on a 3 from the corner.
The student section knew the shot was good before it left his fingers.
Oregon has been, for the most part, unstoppable at home this season. Of its seven losses, only one was at Matthew Knight Arena. That was its last home game against No. 8 Arizona two weeks ago.
“I thought the crowd helped us defensively on a couple of plays,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “They’re gonna be really helpful on Saturday.”
Couisnard scored 14 of his 27 points in the first half. Dante and Kwame Evans Jr. both tallied 15 points in the victory.
Couisnard continued to star in the second half. He put his heart on display with a hustle-play six minutes into the second period. Off a missed jumper by Jackson Shelstad, he dove onto the floor and drew a foul. Couisnard was rewarded with another 3-pointer off the stoppage.
Down as many as 20 points, Washington began putting on full-court defensive pressure to force some stops. It was the beginning of an eight-minute field goal drought for Oregon. Washington went on a run of its own with 12-straight points to dramatically cut the deficit to one.
“I’ve been harping on our mistakes that we’re making too late in the season,” Altman said. “For February eighth, we should be able to handle the press a lot better than that.”
Couisnard tried to get it to a two-possession game with 43 seconds left. This time, he was out of luck as he was met at the rim.
Fortunately for Oregon, its defense didn’t let up. Dante stripped the Huskies of the ball and converted a free-throw after being fouled. On the next play, the Ducks contested the 3-pointer to tie the game. Washington made a 3 following a pair of Couisnard free-throws, but it was too late.
Oregon escaped the game with a win.
“First thing I put on the board was to go and find a way to win the game, and we did that,” Altman said. “[But] we shouldn’t have put ourselves in the position.”
The Ducks continue their two-game homestand on Saturday at 2 p.m. They’ll look to continue to defend their home court against Washington State.