The Oregon men’s basketball team needed a sweep this weekend in Arizona to stay afloat in the Pac-12 standings, and that wish was granted in the form of two resounding victories over Arizona State and Arizona. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=235&SPSID=4294@@ @@http://pac-12.org/SPORTS/BasketballM/Standings.aspx@@
Oregon (13-5, 4-2 Pac-12) started the weekend with a 67-58 victory in Tempe over Arizona State (6-11, 2-3 Pac-12) on Thursday. After a disappointing loss to California at home back on Jan. 8, it was just the type of bounce-back performance the Ducks needed.
Early on, it looked like the win might come easily. Oregon led by as much as 11 in the first half, but Arizona State’s 18-9 spurt over the final 10 minutes cut the advantage to just two at intermission. Senior guard Garrett Sim led the way with 10 points in the first half, while fellow senior Devoe Joseph chipped in with eight. For Arizona State, guard Trent Lockett made all six of his shots in the half en route to 14 points and four assists. @@https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/814407.pdf?ATCLID=205360093&SPSID=4297&SPID=235&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=235&SPSID=4295@@ @@http://www.thesundevils.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/asu-m-baskbl-mtt.html@@
The Sun Devils grabbed an early lead in the second half when Chanse Creekmur hit a three-pointer, and the margin extended to 47-43 before Oregon used a 5-0 run of its own to regain the advantage. With just under six minutes left, junior forward E.J. Singler hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to six and put Arizona State away for good.
When the final whistle blew, Joseph led the way for Oregon with 15 points to go along with four assists and four steals. Junior center Tony Woods followed with 12, while Singler added 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Johnathan Loyd, meanwhile, overcame a bruised knee suffered against Cal and chipped in with six assists.
Saturday’s victory over Arizona (12-6, 3-2 Pac-12) was a closer affair. Oregon took a commanding 34-22 lead into the halftime intermission, and even led by as much as 17 in the early minutes of the second half. Yet the Wildcats would not go away quietly, and fought all the way back to tie the game at 54 with 3:25 left. @@https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/815775.pdf?ATCLID=205361149&SPSID=4297&SPID=235&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
In the end, it was Sim who made the difference. The senior hit a clutch three-pointer with the game tied at 56 to give Oregon a lead it would not relinquish. When the clock ran out, the Ducks had escaped with a 59-57 victory.
Individually, Joseph and senior forward Olu Ashaolu tied for a team high with 13 points each. Sim chipped in with 12, 10 coming in the second half alone. Singler, meanwhile, scored 12 points to go along with a game-high seven assists. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205361149@@