Eugene, OR – Oregon shook off their rust and came up with a crisp offensive performance in an 86-74 win over Washington on Saturday afternoon. The win broke the Ducks two-game home losing streak. Eugene Omoruyi led Oregon with a game-high 25 points. Will Richardson added 19 points while Jalen Terry contributed 15 points of 5-of-7 shooting from deep. Quade Green led the Huskies with 23 points.
Omoruyi was effective all game scoring inside while also making 3-of-4 three-pointers. He added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Richardson looked much more comfortable in his second game this season. He was more aggressive on offense, hitting 5-of-12 shots while getting to the foul line eight times, making six. He added five assists but did commit five turnovers in 38 minutes of play.
Oregon has had a tough season just getting on the court. Six of their recent games were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Richardson, their starting point guard made his first appearance of the season on Thursday after being out with a broken thumb. N’Faly Dante, their starting center, was lost for the season due to a knee injury. Chris Duarte, their leading scorer and best player, suffered an ankle injury against Washington State and was not able to play today. Coach Altman indicated after the game that Duarte has an outside chance of being available for next week’s games. Eric Williams Jr., another starter was also on the shelf today for the second straight game due to COVID-19 protocols. Between missed games and practices it’s been difficult for Oregon to get any consistent play, as their last two losses evidence.
Both teams came out of the gate shooting well, with the Huskies connecting on four early three-pointers and the Ducks three. Washington took a 18-14 lead on a three from Marcus Tsohonis. Tsohonis, a Portland native coming off a 22-point effort against Oregon State on Thursday, led the Huskies with 11 first half points, connecting on 5-of-8 shots. He ended the game with 15 points.
The Ducks came back helped by the best play of Franck Kepnang’s young career. The 6-11 freshman center connected on all three of his field goal attempts in scoring eight first half points. Kepnang gave the Ducks what they need in interior scoring. Richardson hit an early three, was fouled on a subsequent three-pointer and scored eight first half points. Oregon moved away from Washington with a 12-1 run midway through the half. Omoruyi’s three-pointer in the last possession of the half gave the Ducks a 42-31 lead. Omoruyi scored a game-high 12 first half points, connecting on both his three-point attempts. The Ducks connected on 6-of-12 3s in the half and shot 53.8 percent overall from the field.
Oregon came out strong in the second half. Richardson and Omoruyi hit back-to-back 3s as Richardson scored seven quick points and the Ducks expanded their lead to 17 points. Freshman point guard Terry gave the Ducks a big boost, hitting four three-pointers over a 2:20 stretch to help give Oregon a 68-48 lead. Terry’s last two 3s came from 25 feet. The Ducks got a little sloppy late in the game (15 turnovers). Five points from Quade Green cut Oregon’s lead to 76-65 with 4:11 remaining. Oregon stopped that run helped by a nice pass from Richardson to Omoruyi for a layup and two Richardson free throws after a subsequent technical foul on the Huskies’ bench. The Ducks coasted to the win from there.
Oregon shot 49.2 percent from the field including 48 percent (12-of-25) on 3s. The Huskies also shot well making 51 points overall and were 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from long distance. Oregon won the rebounding battle by a 32-20 margin, including a 12-5 advantage on the offensive boards. LJ Figueroa led the Ducks with nine rebounds. Oregon also had a 32-24 edge in points in the paint and moved the ball well with 18 assists on 29 baskets.
Oregon (10-4, 5-3) will head to Arizona to first face Arizona State on Thursday night while Washington (3-14, 2-10) return home to play USC on Thursday.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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