Jermaine Couisnard scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, leading Oregon to an 84-70 win over Kent State on Thursday night in Eugene, Ore., in the Ducks’ nonconference finale.
Kario Oquendo added 20 points off the bench and the Ducks, despite playing without much depth in the post, outscored the Golden Flashes 34-14 in the paint.
The Ducks (8-3) never trailed en route to their fourth win in five games. Kent State (7-4) had won three straight but hadn’t played since Dec. 9.
Tyem Freeman led Kent State with 16 points, shooting 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Half of the Golden Flashes’ 22 made baskets were from beyond the arc.
The short-handed Ducks, missing five players due to injury, one of them out for the season, got exactly the start they needed.
Oregon jumped on top 30-16, with Oquendo scoring 10 points over a three-minute stretch. Only a few deep 3-pointers kept the Golden Flashes in the game, one from Jalen Sullinger, who came into the game as Kent State’s leading scorer and finished with 11 points.
Couisnard’s layup and free throw made it 42-24 with 1:29 left, and Oquendo hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds to go as the Ducks took a 16-point lead into halftime.
The second half saw Kent State storm back into the game. After Oregon’s Kwame Evans Jr. dunked off a fastbreak less than a minute in, the Golden Flashes finally got their offense and defense going. An 11-0 run with six points from Giovanni Santiago cut Oregon’s lead to 49-40.
Kent State’s Chris Payton Jr. dunked off a lob pass from Julius Rollins, Sullinger swished a setback trey along the sideline, and the Golden Flashes trailed 55-51 with 12:12 to play.
The Ducks responded with a 14-3 run to seal the win, Jackson Shelstad scoring eight points and Couisnard six. Oregon led 69-54 at the under-eight minute media timeout, and Kent State didn’t have an answer.
Shelstad finished with 15 points and five assists.
–Field Level Media