Ducks Hang On After Young's Hot Streak, Advance To NCAA Third Round

Friday, March 20

Omaha, Neb.

3:50 PM

University of Oregon

26-9

Oklahoma State (2nd Round)

18-14

Oklahoma State

Oregon

Ducks Hang On After Young's Hot Streak, Advance To NCAA Third Round

03/21/15 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com

OMAHA, Neb. — Oregon advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament with a 79-73 win over Oklahoma State on Friday in the CenturyLink Center, getting a huge midgame scoring outburst from Joseph Young and holding on down the stretch.

How It Happened: An emphatic dunk by Young after driving the lane early in the second half gave Oregon a 54-49 lead — and Young 23 of the Ducks' last 26 points — to set the stage for a tense finish. The Cowboys responded with seven straight points to claw back ahead 55-54, and last led at 62-59. Elgin Cook then scored on two straight UO possessions, and the Ducks led for good. OSU got back within one at 70-69, when Dillon Brooks hit a three-pointer to give Oregon some separation again.

Young scored Oregon's final 15 points of the first half, and the Ducks limited the Cowboys to three over the final 4:54 to take a 43-39 lead into the break. Young started slow but Cook and Brooks supplied the offense early, with Brooks scoring off a miss to cap a 6-0 run for a 19-14 lead.

Oklahoma State responded with nine in a row, however, and led by as much as eight at 36-28 after an Anthony Hickey three-pointer. That's when Young got hot, transitioning from an OSU turnover and pulling up while leading a four-on-one break to a hit a three-pointer for his first field goal. Young hit another three on Oregon's next trip, and a third to pull the Ducks back ahead, 39-38.

Who Stood Out: Young's outburst led to most of his 27 points on the night, on 8-of-15 field-goal shooting. Cook scored 18 and Brooks added 17, supplying the offense before and after Young's hot streak. Jordan Bell made all three of his field-goal attempts for six points, and blocked three shots to go along with five rebounds.

What It Means: The Ducks have now won NCAA Tournament games in three straight appearances, matching the school record from Oregon's first ever NCAA appearances, in 1939, 1945 and then 1960. This was the first time in school history the team reached the tournament in three straight years, much less won games in three straight.

Odds and Ends: Young's field-goal total for the season reached (253), second in UO history behind Terrell Brandon's 273 in 1990-91. ... As they did for the Pac-12 Tournament, the Ducks wore patches bearing the initials of former UO President Dave Frohnmayer, who passed away earlier in March. ... The Ducks eliminated the Cowboys from the tournament for the second time in three years.

Up Next: The Ducks will play in the round of 32 on Sunday against the winner of Friday's late game between No. 1 seed Wisconsin and 16th-seeded Coastal Carolina.