Field Level Media
Feb 13, 2020
Will Richardson scored 17 of his team-leading 21 points in the second half and No. 17 Oregon overcame a 20-0 run by No. 16 Colorado for a 68-60 win Thursday night in Eugene, Ore.
Payton Pritchard added 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and the Ducks used a late 12-0 run to take their first lead of the second half and then held onto it down the stretch.
Colorado's three-game winning streak came to an end and the Buffaloes (19-6, 8-4 Pac-12) lost their grip on sole possession of first place in the conference, dropping into a tie for the top spot with the Ducks (19-6, 8-4). Eighteen turnovers hurt as Oregon turned up the pressure on defense and turned the tide of the game.
Evan Battey had 14 points and 11 rebounds and D'Shawn Schwartz added 14 points for Colorado.
Oregon went through another stretch of poor shooting, the kind that plagued the Ducks in back-to-back losses at Stanford and Oregon State in their previous two games. Up 16-10 after an Anthony Mathis 3 with 11:20 left, the Ducks went 8 minutes and 50 seconds without a point.
The Buffaloes took advantage, going on a 20-0 run that included four 3-pointers. Oregon missed 11 straight shots and trailed by 14, 30-16, with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.
A layup and free throw by Chris Duarte with 3:30 left ended the dry spell.
McKinley Wright IV and Shane Gatling had eight points each in the first half as Colorado made 14 of 29 shots. Colorado led 35-26 at halftime.
The Ducks cut the lead to three, 43-40, only to have the Buffaloes get back-to-back 3s from Schwartz and Lucas Siewert to build their lead back to nine.
Again Oregon responded, using a 9-2 run to make it a two-point game, 51-49, at the midway point of the second half.
The Ducks had chances to tie on several possessions before finally drawing even at 58 on two Richardson free throws with 4:18 to play. Richardson then knocked down a 3 for Oregon's first lead since early in the first half.
--Field Level Media