The Sports Xchange
Nov 23, 2017
After the game was tied at 60 with 3:25 to go, Connecticut finished on an 11-3 run to earn a 71-63 victory over Oregon in front of a very pro-Ducks crowd in the first round of the Phil Knight 80 Invitational on Thursday in Portland, Ore.
Neither team was able to establish any sort of rhythm as the game was played at a snail's pace due to the 53 fouls called. Oregon was whistled for a season-high 30 fouls.
The Ducks (4-1) had plenty of the chances in the end, but many sloppy mistakes, including wide-open misses by Payton Pritchard and Mikyle McIntosh, eventually did them in.
The Huskies (4-0) went 9 of 12 from the free throw line to clinch the game. Terry Larrier led the Huskies with a game-high 18 points, while Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert added 16 points each.
Pritchard led the Ducks with 14 points, while Paul White added 12. McIntosh had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
When Connecticut stretched its lead to nine early in the second half, the Ducks finally found some semblance of offense. Oregon went on a 14-2 run to take a 47-44 lead with 12 minutes remaining. However, UConn would battle back, tying the game at 53 with 6:58 to go.
Both teams struggled from the field as the Ducks shot 33.3 percent (19-for-57) and UConn shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58). Oregon was 5-for-24 from beyond the arc while the Huskies were 3-for-17.
As far as first halves go, it couldn't have gotten much uglier for the Ducks, who were trailing 38-31 at the break. They shot 33.3 percent (12-of-36) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arc, turned the ball over five times and committed 12 fouls.
The Ducks struggled to stay in front of their man on defense -- even prompting coach Dana Altman to switch to a zone midway through the half. The Ducks went scoreless over a late stretch in the half, but a big bucket by White near the buzzer gave Oregon some much needed momentum heading in the break.
UConn advances in the winner's bracket to face No. 4 Michigan State on Friday. The Ducks will face DePaul.