Dante leads Oregon past Washington State in 2nd half 74-60
Dec 1, 2022, 7:43 AM | Updated: 9:51 pm
Oregon guard Rivaldo Soares (11) shoots against Washington State guard Dylan Darling (22) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Eugene, Ore., Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)
(AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — N’Faly Dante scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half when Oregon used a 13-2 run to jump start a 74-60 win over Washington State in the Pac-12 Conference opener on Thursday night.
The game was played within four points through the first 26 minutes. TJ Bamba had a dunk and a three-point play to put the Cougars on top 44-40. Will Richardson got those points back in similar fashion, and after one last Washington State lead, the Ducks scored eight straight points. A Dante layup gave the Ducks a 53-46 lead with 11:08 to play.
Starting near the five-minute mark, Dante scored three quick baskets, the last two dunks, and the score was 68-54. The Cougars went six minutes without a basket, missing five shots with four turnovers.
Richardson had 17 points for the Ducks (4-4) and Quincy Guerrier 12. Richardson had eight assists and three steals and Dante had seven rebounds.
Mouhamed Gueye scored 19 points for Washington State (4-4), which came in averaging 11 3-pointers but finished 3 of 14 behind the arc. Bamba added 14 points, but he missed his only 3, coming in at 56.5%. Jabe Mullins, a 57% shooter from distance, missed the game with a knee issue.
The first half ended deadlocked at 32 with nine ties and five lead changes. Almost every statistic was a tie, but Gueye poured in 17 points for Washington State on 7-of-9 shooting. No other Cougar had more than four points.
Gueye only got three shots in the second half while Dante was 8 of 10 for the Ducks.
Washington State heads home for a Sunday game against Utah, which knocked off No. 4 Arizona on Thursday. Oregon goes to No. 21 UCLA on Sunday.
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