University of Oregon
17-7. 7-4
Washington State
10-13, 4-7
Young & Benjamin lead Ducks in 95-72 Romp
02/09/15 | Men's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. – Joseph Young scored 29 points and Dwayne Benjamin was close behind with a career-high 25, and Oregon (17-7, 7-4) earned the 95-77 win over Washington State (10-13, 4-7) Sunday night at Matthew Knight Arena. Young was just two assists away from a triple-double (29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists).
How It Happened: The game started with a gracious applause from the MKA crowd recognizing Washington State Head Coach Ernie Kent, but it was all Oregon when the game began. The Ducks blitzed the Cougars and jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the game's opening minutes. Five different UO players found the scoring column in the first eight minutes of the game, and Oregon expanded their lead to 23-4 at the 11:26 mark in the first half.
Washington State didn't reach double digits until 8:09 remained in the first and the Ducks finished the half with a 52-28 lead. The last time Oregon scored 52 points in a first half was earlier this year at Washington State on Jan. 15.
UO came out of the locker room in the second half and their lead ballooned to 32 (69-37) after an emphatic Benjamin dunk off a lob from Young, giving the pair two alley-oop connections on the game.
The Ducks maintained the 20-point cushion throughout the game and cruised to the victory in front of 7, 121 in MKA. Jalil Abdul-Bassit finished with 10 points, Dillon Brooks chipped in nine and freshman Roman Sorkin scored a career-high eight points off the bench in 14 minutes of play.
What It Means: The Ducks held serve at home this week and avenged their two previous losses to the Washington schools. UO is currently tied for third place in the Pac-12 with Oregon State at 7-4. The Green and Yellow will be tested in the coming weeks with five of their next seven games on the road.
Young's Coming On
Ever Since Young knocked down the go-ahead jumper with 25.6 seconds remaining in overtime to give UO the 68-67 win at Arizona State, he has exploded for 61 points in the past two games. 32 points –including the go-ahead floater – against Washington and 29 are some big numbers for the Ducks' leading scorer.
Altman Joins Elite
With the win, head coach Dana Altman secured his 18th consecutive winning season. He joins Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Bill Self (Kansas), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Stew Morrill (Utah State) as the seven active Division I coaches to accomplish the feat.
Quotable
Dana Altman, Head Coach
On the game…
“I was really pleased with our activity in the first half, the guys really flew around. Diving on loose balls and made shots for each other. In the first half, I really loved our intensity. Joe played really good, Elgin gave us some shots. I thought it was a step in the right direction. It's the consistency we are looking for.
Joseph Young—Guard
On offensive performance...
“Pretty complete. On the defensive end we were really making some stops and everybody was on the floor and I haven't seen everybody on the floor yet. I think we had a few loose balls on the floor and we came up with them. This team is learning and I like the activity we are giving each other and the postive energy is working.”
By The Numbers
Oregon logged 23 assists, giving them their third-highest total on the season...The Ducks' six turnovers tonight ties for their lowest total on the season...The last time UO had two players score 25 points or more was at Washington State on Jan. 15 when Young had 32 and Elgin Cook had 26 in a 108-99 OT loss...Oregon's win tonight guarantees the Ducks fifth consecutive winning season. The Kamikaze Kids have Oregon's current streak by a year, at six straight winning seasons from 1972-73 through 1977-78....The victory also gives UO 114 wins in the last five seasons, giving Altman and the Ducks the school's all-time best five-year win total.
Next Up
Oregon will hit the road and play at USC on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. (PT). The game will be televised on ESPN2.
