No. 13 Oregon routs Oregon State 85-43
Associated PressJan 15, 2017, 12:28 PM EST
Steve Dykes/Getty Images
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) Payton Pritchard and No. 13 Oregon made the 40-mile bus ride a wasted trip for Oregon State in the latest leg of college basketball's most-played rivalry.
As it turned out, the 347th Civil War wasn't much more than a neighborhood skirmish.
Pritchard had 17 points and Oregon scored the game's first 21 points in an 85-43 victory over Oregon State on Saturday night.
"Defense," Pritchard said of the fast start. "When we start off going hard on defense, locking up, that's going to happen for us."
Dylan Ennis added 16 points to help the Ducks (16-2, 5-0 Pac-12) win their 14th consecutive game – their longest such streak in 70 years – and 36th in a row at home. Dillon Brooks and Casey Benson each had 11 points.
Drew Eubanks had 19 points to lead the Beavers (4-14, 0-5), and Stephen Thompson Jr. added 10 points. They have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
"I think we were nervous," Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. "They came out and got physical with us and we had a couple of guys that didn't know how to respond to their physicality."
So dominant was Oregon from the opening tip that Oregon State needed more than nine minutes to make a field goal and had four of its first nine attempts blocked. The Beavers didn't have more points than turnovers until Eubanks hit two free throws to cut the Ducks' lead to 31-11 after 14 minutes.
"Our defensive intensity was really good to start the game," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "I liked our activity the whole first half. Guys really flew around pretty good."
Oregon State shot 4 of 24 (16.7 percent) in the first half. Eight of those 20 misses were blocked.
After leading 41-13 at the half, Oregon started the second on a 16-5 run to go up by 37 points. The Ducks' largest lead was 43 in the final minute.
Oregon had assists on its first eight field goals and finished with 23 assists while shooting 27 of 52 (51.9 percent) overall and 11 of 23 (47.8 percent) from 3-point range.
"I don't think we made a 3 that wasn't off an assist tonight," Altman said. "When our ball movement was good, we scored baskets."
Jordan Bell had four of Oregon's 12 blocks, one off the school record, and Chris Boucher had three. Oregon now has 137 blocks on the season to lead the nation.
Oregon State is now 2-10 since losing leading scorer Tres Tinkle, who averaged 20.2 points through the first six games, to a broken right wrist in late November. His status remains indefinite.
Oregon is one victory away from matching the school record for consecutive wins (15), which dates back to 1913. The Ducks have won 14 straight for the sixth time in their history but only the second time since World War II.
Oregon, after climbing eight spots in the past two weeks, may improve its position with at least two teams ranked above it having lost.
Oregon's 42-point margin was its largest in 161 Civil War victories. Oregon State has 187 wins in the series, including one by 43 points.
Altman said Boucher, who leads the Ducks in scoring at 13.7 points, told him before the game that he was fine continuing to play off the bench. Boucher hasn't started since missing two games with a sprained ankle in mid-December. "For a player to say, `Use me however you've got to use me to win the game,' that's unselfish and that creates chemistry," Altman said.
WAY TO GO, CHARLIE
The biggest cheer from what remained of the announced sellout crowd of 12,364 came when senior walk-on Charlie Noebel hit a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left for his first points of the season and his second field goal in 21 games spanning three seasons.
Oregon State will try to break its five-game losing streak when it hosts Stanford on Thursday night.
Oregon stays home to face California on Thursday night and Stanford on Saturday.