Ducks Close Out Year By Beating Buffs

Sunday, December 31

Eugene, OR

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

11-4, 1-1

Colorado

8-6, 0-2

Colorado

Oregon

12/31/17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Oregon-Colorado Box Score 2017-18 Season Stats 2017-18 Conference Stats

Oregon bounced back from its loss to Utah with a New Year's Eve win over Colorado on Sunday, 77-62.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Troy Brown Jr. had the best night of his young career to help Oregon rebound from a loss in its conference opener by beating Colorado on Sunday, 77-62, before 7,458 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.

Brown scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and also set a career high with four steals, helping the Ducks force a season-high 20 turnovers. That defensive pressure helped Oregon survive an uneven night offensively that included 12 first-half turnovers and 39.3 percent second-half shooting.

How It Happened: The Ducks (11-4) led wire-to-wire, scoring the game's first seven points on a three-pointer by Elijah Brown, a dunk by Kenny Wooten and a jumper by Brown. Minutes later, Brown hit a spinning bank shot for a 15-4 lead, and the lead remained 11 as Troy Brown hit a three-pointer to make it 20-9. Colorado then scored eight straight, but Brown got the lead back to double-digits by using a nasty crossover to shake a defender at the three-point arc, then finishing a reverse layin to make it 29-19. The Buffs scored another six in a row from there, but Payton Pritchard made a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer for a 37-28 Oregon lead.

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Colorado (8-6) scored the first five points after halftime, but Oregon answered that surge with a 15-4 run capped by another Pritchard three-pointer. Wooten completed a three-point play for a 61-45 advantage, and though the Ducks went several minutes before their next field goal, they held Colorado scoreless on their next six trips. The teams traded scores from there, with the Ducks ultimately leading by as many as 17 at 77-60.

Who Stood Out: Troy Brown put together his 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Elijah Brown added 17 points. Wooten scored 13 points — two nights after not even attempting a field goal — and he added seven rebounds with six blocks. Pritchard finished with 12 points and four assists. The Ducks got good energy off the bench from guards Keith Smith and Victor Bailey Jr., and Paul White played 21 minutes in his return from concussion symptoms.

What It Means: The Ducks still aren't clicking anywhere close to the level they'd like to be, but a wire-to-wire victory in the Pac-12 Conference is nothing to dismiss, particularly given the need to bounce back from Friday's loss to Utah.

Quotable:
Head coach Dana Altman
On bouncing back from the Utah loss
"Our energy was much better. We forced them into a few turnovers, and there were points off turnovers where they helped us. … We've gotta get more active. I think there's still a lot more there defensively. But a big step from the other night, just because our energy and activity was much better."

Freshman post Kenny Wooten
On trying to put together a 40-minute game
"We always try to come out with the same fire we had in the first half, but it's still a work in progress. We're still trying to find a way to grind out games."

Freshman guard Victory Bailey Jr.
On trying to provide a spark
"Anybody can bring energy — the bench can bring energy, coach can bring energy. Energy is just want-to; you don't even have to be good to bring energy."

Up Next: The Ducks go on the road for the first time in the conference season, to play at Oregon State on Friday (7 p.m., FS1).