Field Level Media
Feb 28, 2020
Payton Pritchard scored 23 points and Will Richardson added all 15 of his points in the second half, leading No. 14 Oregon to a 69-54 win over visiting Oregon State on Thursday night in Eugene, Ore.
The Ducks (22-7, 11-5 Pac-12) made 11 of 23 3-pointers and won their fourth game in the past five, moving into a first-place tie with UCLA in the Pac-12.
Ethan Thompson's 15 points led the Beavers (15-13, 5-11). Tres Tinkle added 14 points and 10 rebounds, but Oregon State lost its fourth straight.
Pritchard made five of Oregon's 3-pointers, and the Ducks broke open a tight, low-scoring first half by out-scoring the Beavers 16-3 in the first seven minutes of the second half.
Pritchard drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 13:04 to go in the second half for a 45-28 lead, and -- sensing a win over Oregon's in-state rival in the final regular-season meeting of his college career -- threw his hands in the air to fire up the home crowd.
The Ducks were in control from that point, outscoring the Beavers 40-29 in the second half to avenge a 63-53 loss to the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore., earlier in the season. Oregon State had 15 turnovers to only four for the Ducks.
Oregon led by only as many as six points in the first half, but couldn't stop Thompson's hot shooting. Thompson made three 3-pointers and 5 of 6 shots in the first half for 13 points.
The Beavers took a 21-19 lead with 3:22 left on a Thompson trey. But the Ducks finished what was overall a cold-shooting first half for both teams with a 10-4 run, with a pair of 3-pointers from Anthony Mathis and a scoop layup from Pritchard with four seconds to go.
Mathis had 11 first-half points to lead the Ducks.
The Ducks welcomed back center N'Faly Dante from a long-term injury, but played without guard Chris Duarte, who had a cast on one thumb.
--Field Level Media