LAS VEGAS — Utah’s leading scorer for the season and recent hero against California, Jarred DuBois, was held scoreless on Friday night, and Oregon won behind a solid defensive performance, 64-45.
On Thursday against a heavily favored Golden Bears team, DuBois hit a three to send the Utes into overtime, scoring 21 points in his squad’s surprise win. He shot 0-for-8 against the Ducks on Friday.
Oregon beat Utah for the second time this season in three tries, leading by eight or more since the 8:54 mark in the first half. The Ducks held them to a measly 29 percent shooting, and Damyean Dotson and E.J. Singler led the way with 14 points each.
Oregon’s second win in as many nights catapults the program into the final of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, where they will face the Bruins at 8 p.m. on Saturday night.
“I thought overall we didn’t give up a lot of really good looks,” Ducks’ head coach Dana Altman said. “Our pressure created some turnovers and got us some easy baskets.”
“We tried to set the tone,” Johnathan Loyd said, “from the start with our defense, not give them any easy buckets because that will get their energy going.”
In the first half, it was all Oregon. Dotson started the scoring for the Ducks with a steal and a jumper, nailing two threes to give a 10-6 lead; Carlos Emory joined in with five in a row to put the team ahead, 19-10.
Oregon employed stifling defense, forcing Utah deep into the shot clock and poor shot attempts. They shot below 32 percent in the first half, while the Ducks shot over 46 percent.
Dotson turned in another smooth offensive first half, as he did against Washington, shooting 4-for-6 for 10 points.
At the midway point, Oregon led 29-15.
Dominic Artis made his first two-point jump shot since Jan. 19 at the 16:47 point in the second half. Next, in transition, Arsalan Kazemi dribbled behind his back to lose a defender and swung a no-look pass to the corner, which ended in an Emory three-pointer. Singler then stripped DuBois, and the turnover translated into an Emory highlight dunk to put the Ducks ahead 41-22. An 8-0 run for Oregon spelled the largest lead of the game for the third-seeded team.
The Utes tried to push back a bit, hitting a three, but Singler nullified with his own from long range. Utah then went on an 8-2 run to slice the Oregon lead to 11, and moments later had pulled within eight. But they began to blow opportunities to really make it game — none more evident than a possession of which Oregon was allowed four offensive rebounds that ended in a Singler bucket. On the next Ducks possession, the team from Eugene crashed the offensive boards again, resulting in two-points for him again.
“I wanted to make a point on the boards,” he said. “So I felt like I could get in position and get some offensive boards.”
Utah went on a four-minute scoring drought when they needed points most. By the time they had scored again, they were back 13 with fewer than two minutes to go. Loyd protected the lead with six foul shots, allowing Oregon to cruise to victory.