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Ducks erase double digit deficit to defeat Washington in Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal

Four of Oregon's starters scored 15 points or more as the Ducks advanced to the Pac-12 tournament semifinal with an 83-77 win over the Huskies.

By Sean Larson
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Oregon's quarterfinal started bad and nearly ended worse. After falling behind by double digits in the first half, the Ducks built a double digit lead in the second half, only to almost blow the lead they had built in the final moments. Oregon would prevail, defeating the Washington Huskies 83-77 in their quarterfinal matchup at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Chris Boucher and Elgin Cook led the way for Oregon, scoring 19 points each. Tyler Dorsey scored 17 points while Dillon Brooks added 15 points. Casey Benson was the only starter who did not hit double figures for Oregon.

The Ducks will move on to Friday's semifinal, facing the winner of this afternoon's game between Colorado and Arizona.

So how did this game play out? Let's dive in a take a look.

First Half

The Huskies got off to a good start from the field, hitting their first four shots to take an early 8-4 lead. The lead could have been larger, but Washington was hit with three straight fouls, much to the displeasure of Lorenzo Romar who was letting the refs hear it.

Just before the the first media timeout, Marquese Chriss drained a three-pointer to give Washington an 11-6 lead with 15:28 to play in the first half. Chriss scored nine straight points for the Huskies during this stretch, including an athletic alley-oop right out of the media timeout. The alley-oop came off a turnover from Jordan Bell, who somehow thought he had become the point guard.

Early on, Washington set a new conference record for most blocks in a single season with 212. There was just one problem. On the record-breaking block, Chriss went for the block against Tyler Dorsey, but got a whole lot of arm instead.

Then, it was David Crisp's turn to heat up. Crisp drained back-to-back three-pointers to put Washington up 23-14 over Oregon, forcing the Ducks to burn an early timeout in order to try and stop the bleeding.

The timeout didn't do much to help. Andrew Andrews came up with a steal, leading to another three-pointer from Crisp, building the Huskies' lead up to 12 points. At the under-8 timeout, the lead was down to single digits, but Oregon's poor shooting and ball control wasn't doing much to help them.

The Huskies cooled off, missing eight straight shots, which allowed the Ducks to come back and go on a 9-0 run. Chris Boucher helped lead the charge, first with an unexpected three-pointer and then with a vicious block that led to a breakaway layup for Dillon Brooks.

With two and a half minutes left, the Ducks reclaimed the lead after going on a 13-0 run. During that span, the Huskies went four minutes without a basket, missing five straight shots. Oregon went into the locker room at the half with a 39-38 lead over the Huskies, finishing the half on a 20-7 run after falling behind by 12 points.

Chris Boucher led the way for the Ducks in the first half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers, to go along with six rebounds.

Second Half

The second half got off to a back-and-forth start between the two sides. Thanks to his monster first half, Boucher notched an early double-double in the second half, grabbing his 10th rebound of the day. It was Boucher's eight double-double of the season.

The Ducks built their lead up to seven points, their largest of the day to that point, after a three-pointer from Tyler Dorsey.

Washington's foul troubles continued as the Ducks reached the bonus with over 12 minutes to go. At that point, Oregon had some missed opportunities at the line, shooting just 56% on free throws. If you had mid-afternoon plans, I hope you pushed them back.

Dwayne Benjamin had been quiet up to this point with just a couple points, but a three-point play Benjamin by after driving to the rim put Oregon up 64-54 with nine minutes left to play.

The Huskies still showed some fight as the game went on with Andrew Andrews draining a three-pointer to bring Washington within six points with 6:54 left. Although it felt like Oregon had a much firmer grasp on the game, Andrews' shot made it a two possession game. Another three-pointer from Andrews brought the Huskies to within four points with five and a half minutes to go. A pair of free throws from Andrews then cut Oregon's lead to two with less than five minutes to play. Andrews had heated up and singlehandedly brought Washington back to life. The Ducks found themselves in crucial foul trouble.

Oregon managed to answer right back with two straight layups from Elgin Cook and Tyler Dorsey to push their lead back up to six points, giving the Ducks just the spark they needed as their momentum had faded away.

Washington struck back with a couple quick buckets, fueled by their ability to grab offensive rebounds.

With under a minute to go and Oregon leading by two points, Dillon Brooks pulled up for a three-pointer and missed. However, Tyler Dorsey was right there to grab a clutch offensive rebound, forcing the Huskies to foul him. Dorsey would hit both free throws.

The Ducks hit their free throws in the final minute of the game and would hang on for the win to advance to Friday's Pac-12 tournament semifinal.

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