Field Level Media
Feb 27, 2021
LJ Figueroa's 20-point, 14-rebound double-double on Saturday led Oregon to a 74-63 Pac-12 win over California in Berkeley, Calif.
Eugene Omoruyi scored 21 points and Chris Duarte added 17 for the Ducks (16-5, 11-4), who kept themselves in play to possibly earn the top seed in the conference tourney. Oregon hosts Arizona and league-leading UCLA on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, before visiting Oregon State on March 7 in its regular season finale.
Saturday's win clinched a spot in the conference tournament quarterfinals for the Ducks.
Four players scored in double figures for the Golden Bears (8-19, 3-17), led by Ryan Betley's 13 points. Matt Bradley and Andre Kelly each added 12, while Jarred Hyder chipped in 10 points.
In its final regular season game, Cal gave Oregon fits despite never leading. The Golden Bears pulled to within 34-33 on Bradley's stepback jumper with 17:24 left in the game and could have taken the lead on the next possession, but Betley's 3-pointer rimmed out.
Duarte pumped in a 3-pointer on the Ducks' next trip and Figueroa followed with a transition jam to up the lead to six. Then Oregon finally put the game away by rattling off 11 straight points, Figueroa finishing the run off with a 3-pointer and a layup for a 63-45 advantage with 7:34 remaining.
The Ducks were solid offensively, canning 52.7 percent of their field goal attempts and going 6 of 15 on 3-pointers while committing only eight turnovers. Oregon also buried Cal in points off turnovers, earning a 27-11 advantage.
Omoruyi's jump hook helped the Ducks establish an 8-2 advantage less than three minutes into the game, forcing Cal to chase the game right away. Oregon opened up its first double-figure lead at the 5:52 mark when Eric Williams Jr. stroked a 3-pointer to make it 21-10.
The Golden Bears finally found a rhythm in the last five minutes of the half, although they couldn't make serious inroads in the Ducks' advantage. Kelly's layup with 26 seconds remaining enabled Cal to head for intermission down just 34-27.
--Field Level Media