The Oregon men’s basketball team overcame a slow start and finish in a 73-60 win over Colorado at Matthew Knight Arena on Wednesday night.
Colorado (12-13, 5-8) jumped out to an 11-4 lead before Oregon (19-8, 9-5) went on a 35-11 run to close out the first half. In the second half, the Buffs mounted a late run to get within two possessions, but Oregon responded again to lock down the “must-win” game.
“That’s kind of the way our games have been going: first half, second half,” head coach Dana Altman said. “They beat us in transition. It wasn’t good, that second half. We didn’t sprint back and they sensed that.”
Colorado outscored the Ducks 16-10 in transition, while Oregon allowed 20 offensive rebounds and lost the rebounding total 45-37. Still, Colorado could only convert 12 second chance points all game long.
“We got out-rebounded, but we played pretty tough on the boards,” Dwayne Benjamin said.
On offense, the Ducks got contributions from across lineup. Four Oregon players finished in double digits, while holding the Colorado offense to just 35 percent shooting on the night.
Joseph Young continued his tear and led the team with 23 points, six assists and three rebounds. With Young hitting his shots, the Colorado defense neglected Oregon’s other options on offense.
Dillon Brooks found open looks and finished with 14 points and six rebounds, Elgin Cook did what he could on the block for 13 additional points, while Benjamin pulled down 13 rebounds and netted 11 points to round out the Oregon attack.
After shooting 58 percent in the first half, Oregon’s offense took a dip in the second half. Early in the second period, Oregon had a 42-22 lead, but Colorado started an 18-9 run to get within single digits with 11:58 to go.
The Buffs kept grinding late into the second half, and with 4:09 remaining, Colorado hit its second three pointer of the night to cut its deficit to just five points at 63-58.
But Oregon quickly answered with a three of its own and never looked back, coasting to a relatively easy Pac-12 win.
Colorado’s late push came from point guard Askia Booker and forward Josh Scott. Booker had just six points at halftime, but finished with 20 points on 10-12 night from the free-throw line. Scott finished with 10 points, but pulled down 17 rebounds, giving his team a fighting chance at the end of the game.
Regardless, the Ducks emerged with a much needed win in its final favorable matchup for the rest of the season. With No. 9 Utah set to visit Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday, the Ducks are at their season’s critical moment.
“I’m just excited to play again,” Benjamin said. “We just want to play every game, no matter what it is. We know it will be big for what we want to get to so we’re going to come out here and we’re going to fight.”
Tipoff for Oregon’s matchup with Utah is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter