National Basketball Association
Oregon 84, Southern California 61
When: 10:00 PM ET, Friday, December 30, 2016
Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Oregon
Officials:
# Michael Irving, # Bob Staffen, # Tom Nunez
Attendance:
10051
By The Sports Xchange
EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon cut the list of unbeaten teams in the nation from six to four in just 48 hours.
Two days after defeating No. 2 UCLA 89-87, Oregon ended No. 22 USC's unbeaten start with an 84-61 win over the Trojans on Friday night in a Pac-12 game at Matthew Knight Arena. Last month, Oregon lost 66-49 to Baylor, one of the four remaining unbeatens.
"There were six unbeaten teams going into the week and we helped Baylor get there and then got two of them," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "We had played three of the final six. We had three great practices this week that enabled us to make improvements this weekend."
Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 28 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field, including all four three-pointers, as Oregon won its 11th straight game.
Dylan Ennis added 18 points for Oregon (13-2) while center Chris Boucher had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Ducks are the first team in the conference to get to 2-0.
"Coach told us to go home for Christmas and free ourselves up and come back focused," Boucher said. "We knew it was going to be a tough stretch. We had two unbeaten teams and we stayed focused. When you play together, you can beat any team."
Oregon freshman point guard Payton Pritchard had seven assists as Oregon had 24 assists on 32 baskets while shooting 46.4 percent from the field. Oregon's 24 assists were contrasted with just six turnovers while USC had 17 turnovers that led to 23 Oregon points.
"The number that really stuck out was 24 assists and six turnovers, you like seeing that," Altman said. "I liked our ball movement and points off turnovers was a big advantage tonight."
De'Anthony Melton scored 13 points to pace USC (14-1, 1-1) and Johan Matthews added 11 as USC shot 31 percent from the field to fall for the first time after starting off 14-0. Guard Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart added 10 points each for USC.
The Trojans watched their longest winning streak since 1971 come to an end as Oregon extended its home winning streak to 35 consecutive games.
"We're upset that we lost, but I'm sure the other 34 teams that they beat here were upset too," USC coach Andy Enfield said. "There's a reason they were ranked in the top five in the country in the preseason and there is a reason they have won 35 straight here because they are a very good team."
Oregon led by nine at halftime before Ennis scored the first five points of the second half and Jordan Bell added a free throw to put the Ducks ahead 44-29. After Matthews drove for a USC basket, Ennis scored five points in a row to push Oregon ahead 49-31 with 16:06 left.
McLaughlin made a free throw before Oregon scored 10 points in a row, including several 3-pointers by Brooks, to take a 59-32 lead.
Brooks opened the game with a 3-pointer and Bell followed with a dunk as Oregon took a 5-0 lead. USC closed within 7-4 when Melton scored, but Tyler Dorsey scored for Oregon and Brooks had four straight points to put the Ducks up 13-4.
USC scored the next nine points beginning with two free throws by forward Chimezie Metu before Matthews hit a 3-pointer. McLaughlin made two free throws before Shaqquan Aaron dunked to tie the score 13-13.
Brooks made two free throws before USC took its first lead at 16-15 on a 3-pointer by Stewart. Matthews converted a three-point play to push the lead to 19-15, but Bell scored and Dorsey dunked to tie the score 19-19 before Brooks made two free throws to put Oregon back into the lead.
Chris Boucher dunked and Brooks scored to put Oregon ahead 25-21 before Melton made two free throws for USC. Boucher drove for a basket that put the Ducks ahead 27-23 before Ennis had two free throws for the Ducks.
USC cut the lead to 29-27 before Oregon scored 10 points in a row. Brooks scored seven in a row and Dorsey hit a jumper to push the lead to 38-27 before Metu capped the half with a bucket to get the Trojans within 38-29.
NOTES: Oregon coach Dana Altman won his 700th career game. He has won 577 in Division I with Marshall, Kansas State, Creighton and Oregon, along with 123 wins at two junior colleges. ... Oregon's home-court winning streak of 35 games in a row is second in the nation behind Kansas at 46 in a row. Oregon moved up one spot when South Dakota State had a 34-game home winning streak snapped this week. ... Oregon's 13 straight wins over USC matches its most consecutive wins over a conference opponent. Oregon beat Washington State 13 straight times from 2002 to 2007. ... USC sophomore forward Bennie Boatwright, who averages 10.8 points, missed his 10th straight game with a knee sprain.
Top Game Performances
Southern California |
|
Oregon |
De'Anthony Melton 13 |
Scoring |
Dillon Brooks 28 |
Jordan McLaughlin 4 |
Assists |
Payton Pritchard 7 |
Chimezie Metu 11 |
Rebounds |
Jordan Bell 6 |
Jordan McLaughlin 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Dillon Brooks 6 |
Jordan McLaughlin 2 |
Steals |
Dylan Ennis 3 |
Harrison Henderson 2 |
Blocks |
Chris Boucher 5 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Southern California
|
61 |
31.0 |
7-18 |
18-22 |
9 |
34 |
4 |
4 |
17 |
Oregon
|
84 |
46.4 |
8-20 |
12-18 |
24 |
37 |
8 |
7 |
6 |