One thing is for certain when it comes to the Oregon men’s basketball team, they certainly enjoy their close finishes when they travel to Seattle to take on the Huskies.
For the second straight season, the Ducks managed to squeak one out over Washington, this time by the score of 74-71.
Fans will always remember Payton Pritchard’s last-second three to defeat the Huskies in overtime.
No buzzer-beater was needed tonight, but instead, Oregon held off Washington’s second-half rally.
The Ducks’ 14-point lead was slowly dwindling away and Quade Green had a chance to pull a Pritchard for the other side, but his three-pointer with 2.6 seconds went long.
N’Faly Dante grabbed the rebound, got fouled, made 1-of-2, and Washington’s desperation three from 65 feet away didn’t find its mark and the Ducks got out of there with a win.
“We had a lot of chances to get some separation at the start of the second half and we gave up a lot of easy baskets and started to exchange baskets and that’s just not the way we’ve ever played,” Ducks coach Dana Altman said. “We’re fortunate and got a lot to learn.”
Dante was a presence in the middle all night long for the Ducks. The 6-11 sophomore center scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Eugene Omoruyi and Chris Duarte each scored 13 and Eric Williams, Jr. added 13, including a huge three with 1:12 left to increase the Ducks’ lead to make it 72-68 Oregon.
Although Green didn’t make the game-winner, he made pretty much everything else. The transfer from Kentucky led the Huskies with 26 points, including 15 after halftime. He was 10-of-17 from the field and made five treys in the second half alone.
Oregon’s free throw shooting dramatically improved as the Ducks made 20-of-27 from the charity stripe. But their overall shooting was something left to be desired. Against Washington’s zone, the Ducks made just 25-of-65 (35 percent) from the field and 4-of-19 from long range. Many of those shots were 12 footers inside the key, but Oregon couldn’t find anyone to hit that shot consistently.
Despite struggling from the floor, the Ducks pounded the glass. Oregon outrebounded the Huskies 40-30, with 18 of those coming on the offensive end and they outscored Washington 40-28 in the paint.
With the win, Oregon is now 4-1.
They’re trying to schedule a couple of games for the next week. If the Ducks can’t find an opponent or two, their next game isn’t until Dec. 23 when UCLA comes into Matthew Knight Arena for a noon tip on ESPN2.
POST GAME: DANA ALTMAN DISCUSSES WIN OVER UW