Yesterday the Oregon Ducks stomped Washington State with a 95-72 win at Matthew Knight Arena.
Joseph Young and Dwayne Benjamin were the MVPs of the game with a combined 54 points. Young had 29 and Benjamin followed closely behind with a career-high of 25. According to GoDucks.com, Young was just a couple assists away from a triple double (29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists).
The Ducks stepped on the court and immediately starting finding the bucket, giving themselves a 12-0 lead to start the game. Five different UO players puts points on the board in the first eight minutes of the game. Going into the half the Ducks led 52-28.
Dwayne Benjamin drops it down hard on the Cougars.
Coming out of the half the Ducks took a 32 point lead after Benjamin’s dunk off a lob from Young, giving the pair two alley-oop connections on the game. Throughout the remainder of the game the Ducks kept a 20-point lead to help get them to their 95-72 win over Washington State. Now the Ducks are tied with Oregon State for third in the Pac-12 (7-4).
When head coach Dana Altman was asked about the game yesterday he said, ”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.”
The Ducks seem a little more in sync with one another each game and will hopefully remain consistent going into the next few games. Oregon had its third-highest total number of assists on the season in yesterday’s game at 23, and six turnovers, which ties the Ducks’ lowest number of turnovers on the season. After last night’s win it solidifies 2014/15 as Oregon’s fifth year in a row with a winning season. Not to mention last night’s win brought the Ducks to 114 wins in the last five seasons, the school and Dana Altman’s all time best five-year win total.
When Young was asked about the offensive performance in the post-game press conference he said, ”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 positive energy is working.”
The Ducks will look to continue their winning season on the road against USC this Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Top Photo by John Sperry
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McKalie Bellew just moved to Oregon from Arizona. She is a sophomore at Lane Community College and moved here to pursue her dream of studying Sports Journalism and Broadcasting at the University of Oregon. Her passion for sports is admirable and her determination and hunger for success in the sports field is fascinating; if you ever have the chance to talk to McKalie face-to-face about sports, you’ll know how much she loves these games just by the way her eyes light up during the conversation. When unable to attend Ducks home games you can find her in front of a television on the edge of her seat, cheering her crazed-fan-head off. McKalie appreciates your feedback and constructive-criticism to help her become a better writer and reporter.