Brennan Rigsby scored 18 points and Jadrian Tracey hit a critical 3-pointer Saturday night as Oregon stayed unbeaten in the Pac-12 Conference with an 89-84 win over Washington State in Pullman, Wash.
The Ducks (11-3, 4-0) led 84-82 when Tracey took advantage of a brief defensive lapse at the end of the shot clock, squeezing off a long 3-pointer that swished with 40 seconds left. It was Oregon’s 14th 3-pointer in 24 attempts.
Myles Rice, who scored a game-high 22 points and added seven assists for the Cougars (10-5, 1-3), hit a driving layup with 10.9 seconds remaining to pull them within three points. But Keeshawn Barthelemy sealed the outcome by canning both ends of a one-and-one with nine seconds on the clock.
Jermaine Couisnard added 16 points for the Ducks, while Kario Oquendo came off the bench for 15, hitting 4 of 4 3-pointers. Jackson Shelstad chipped in 14 points.
Jaylen Wells tallied 15 points off Washington State’s bench, while Andrej Jakimowski contributed 13. Isaiah Watts and Isaac Jones each added 10 points.
The Cougars converted nearly 54 percent from the field but couldn’t match Oregon’s hot hand. The Ducks made 58.2 percent of their attempts in a well-played game.
Oregon got off to a fast start, establishing a 10-2 lead less than four minutes into the game as Couisnard canned a mid-range jumper. Rigsby set the tone for his big shooting night by starting the game with a 3-pointer and a mid-range shot.
The Ducks maintained a two-possession lead most of the half until Washington State found traction offensively. Rice’s 3-pointer capped a 9-2 spurt that gave the Cougars their first lead at 31-30 with 7:20 left.
Oregon made another run after that and got the margin back to seven, settling for a 46-41 edge at the break as Mookie Cook converted a layup with 35 seconds remaining.
The Ducks finished the half at 69.2 percent from the field, which offset Washington State’s 15-4 advantage in free throw attempts.
–Field Level Media