Ducks Open Pac-12 Play With Win At Washington

Box Score: Oregon 74, Washington 71 | Boxscore

SEATTLE – Chris Duarte's block on Washington's Nate Roberts with 17.4 seconds to play in the game proved to be the defensive play that gave Oregon a 74-71 win against Washington in the Ducks' Pac-12 opener Saturday at Alaska Airlines Arena.

After the block, the Ducks (4-1, 1-0) got the rebound and Duarte then made one-of-two free throws at the other end. Washington missed a three-pointer on their final possession and N'Faly Dante grabbed his 10th rebound of the game to secure the win.

How it Happened: The Ducks used a dominating performance inside to build a 41-31 lead at halftime. The Ducks outscored the Huskies 26-6 in the paint. Oregon also took advantage by converting 13 UW first-half turnovers into 17 points.

Duarte led Oregon with 10 points in the half, while Eugene Omoruyi added eight before having to go to the bench with his second foul with 5:00 left in the period.

The Ducks led by as many as 15, 53-38, on LJ Figueroa's three-point play with 16:18 left in the second half before the Huskies (1-4, 0-2) rallied.

Washington went on an 8-0 run to close with three points of the Ducks, 60-57, with 8:42 left.

Dante made a pair of free throws before Amauri Hardy hit a contested fast break layup and Omoruyi added two free throws of his own to push the Ducks' lead back to nine, 66-57 with 5:35 remaining.

UW responded and eventually cut the lead to one point, 69-68, with 1:40 left before Eric Williams Jr. drained a three-pointer with 1:14 to go, setting the stage for the wild final minute.

Who Stood Out: Duarte and Omoruyi led the Ducks with 14 points, while Williams Jr. had 13.

Notable: Dante had his second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Quotable:
Head coach Dana Altman
""We had a chance to get some separation in the second half and we started trading baskets…We're fortunate. We've got a lot to learn.

Up Next: Oregon returns to Eugene for the rest of the month.