by Jasmine Saboorian

The Oregon Men’s Basketball team faced off against the Oregon State University Beavers on a late Wednesday bout. Oregon (19-9, 11-6 Pac-12) came in losers in six of its last 11 games, needing a win to stay alive for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, while Oregon State (12-17, 4-14 Pac-12) was coming off its first, and to this point only, road victory of the season. In the end, the Ducks defeated the Beavers 78-71 in their final face-off of Pac-12 history.

The first half of the game opened up with the Beavers taking the tip-off and guard Jordan Pope putting the first numbers on the scoreboard with a jumper. Shortly after, Oregon’s first points were put up back-to-back with a layup by center N’Faly Dante and a triple by guard Jermaine Couisnard.

The two teams continued to go beck-and-neck for the next five minutes of the game until a lead was taken by the Ducks with a clean three from freshman Jackson Shelstad, which gave Oregon a three point lead. Pope became the first player on either side in double digits with a bucket at the 12 minute mark, getting him to ten points.

Dunks were popular tonight with the Ducks starting with Jadrian Tracey who had his first points of the night with a dunk off a steal by Kwame Evans Jr. Next, Dante had a clean second-chance dunk, following the ricochet of a missed three and putting it back emphatically. Off the bench, Brennan Rigsby went all out in the next minute with a personal 5-0 run, a three pointer and a two hand jam that sent Matthew Knight Arena into a frenzy.

Oregon led at the half, 35-33. Although the Ducks had a slight lead, they needed to push harder to secure a win over the Beavers.

The second half opened with the Ducks’ first points on the board by Evans, Jr. with a driving layup in the paint. At this point, Evans Jr. had 10 points and was showing up and showing out tonight.

Jackson Shelstad’s only points in the second half were put up within the first two minutes with midrange jumper. At this point, Shelstad was Oregon’s leading scorer.

Tension were high as a flagrant foul was called on the Beavers’ Chol Mariol after he had smacked Evans Jr. in the face while he was going for a layup. Evans Jr. was sent to the line for two and the Ducks had the possession following the Flagrant call.

The Ducks had then lost their lead on the Beavers after Pope made a jumper in the paint off a Duck turnover. But Jadrian Tracey would get a goaltending call in his favor on the other end, knotting the game back up.

In the last 10 minutes of the contest, Couisnard and Rigsby had dominated the court. Rigsby had another slam dunk and hit a pair of free throws, and Couisnard stepped up with multiple jump shots and defensive attacks.

Evans Jr. led the team with 22 points and was got to the foul stripe a team-high 12 times, also chipping in three steals, a block, and nine rebounds.

Oregon will hit the road next, heading to the desert for a bout with No. 6 Arizona in a huge opportunity for Oregon to boost its tournament resume.

The Oregon Men’s Basketball team faced off against the Oregon State University Beavers on a late Wednesday bout. Oregon (19-9, 11-6 Pac-12) came in losers in six of its last 11 games, needing a win to stay alive for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, while Oregon State (12-17, 4-14 Pac-12) was coming off its first, and to this point only, road victory of the season. In the end, the Ducks defeated the Beavers 78-71 in their final face-off of Pac-12 history.

The first half of the game opened up with the Beavers taking the tip-off and guard Jordan Pope putting the first numbers on the scoreboard with a jumper. Shortly after, Oregon’s first points were put up back-to-back with a layup by center N’Faly Dante and a triple by guard Jermaine Couisnard.

The two teams continued to go beck-and-neck for the next five minutes of the game until a lead was taken by the Ducks with a clean three from freshman Jackson Shelstad, which gave Oregon a three point lead. Pope became the first player on either side in double digits with a bucket at the 12 minute mark, getting him to ten points.

Dunks were popular tonight with the Ducks starting with Jadrian Tracey who had his first points of the night with a dunk off a steal by Kwame Evans Jr. Next, Dante had a clean second-chance dunk, following the ricochet of a missed three and putting it back emphatically. Off the bench, Brennan Rigsby went all out in the next minute with a personal 5-0 run, a three pointer and a two hand jam that sent Matthew Knight Arena into a frenzy.

Oregon led at the half, 35-33. Although the Ducks had a slight lead, they needed to push harder to secure a win over the Beavers.

The second half opened with the Ducks’ first points on the board by Evans, Jr. with a driving layup in the paint. At this point, Evans Jr. had 10 points and was showing up and showing out tonight.

Jackson Shelstad’s only points in the second half were put up within the first two minutes with midrange jumper. At this point, Shelstad was Oregon’s leading scorer.

Tension were high as a flagrant foul was called on the Beavers’ Chol Mariol after he had smacked Evans Jr. in the face while he was going for a layup. Evans Jr. was sent to the line for two and the Ducks had the possession following the Flagrant call.

The Ducks had then lost their lead on the Beavers after Pope made a jumper in the paint off a Duck turnover. But Jadrian Tracey would get a goaltending call in his favor on the other end, knotting the game back up.

In the last 10 minutes of the contest, Couisnard and Rigsby had dominated the court. Rigsby had another slam dunk and hit a pair of free throws, and Couisnard stepped up with multiple jump shots and defensive attacks.

Evans Jr. led the team with 22 points and was got to the foul stripe a team-high 12 times, also chipping in three steals, a block, and nine rebounds.

Oregon will hit the road next, heading to the desert for a bout with No. 6 Arizona in a huge opportunity for Oregon to boost its tournament resume.

Audio Story by Jasmine Saboorian