Young's 10 straight points in second half lift Ducks over Beavers in first round of Pac-12 tournament

After a slow start and a back-and-forth game, 10 straight points from Joseph Young helped lift the Oregon Ducks to a 88-74 win over the Oregon State Beavers in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

Young led the Ducks with 19 points on 8/11 shooting while Jason Calliste added in 17 points off the bench. Mike Moser and Dominic Artis also reached double figures in scoring with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

As a team, the Ducks had success from deep, shooting 62.5 percent from three-point range.

Oregon’s bench was once again a key contributor, outscoring the Beavers 46-6 in bench scoring. Altman has become an expert at rotating guys in, and has been blessed with a deep enough bench to do so.

The Ducks got off to a sloppy start, missing their first nine shots. It took four minutes for Oregon to hit their first field goal, a three-pointer from Mike Moser. A jumper from Angus Brandt gave the Beavers a 15-5 lead. Not exactly the start Oregon had in mind.

The slow start prompted a mass substitution from Altman. Oregon’s defensive pressure caused the Beavers to commit four straight turnovers, allowing the Ducks to go on a 12-0 run to take their first lead of the game. During the first half, Oregon State committed 10 turnovers, compared to just two for the Ducks. The trap defense created turnovers, allowing Oregon back into the game.

Later in the first half as part of a 19-3 run, Dominic Artis hit his first three-pointer since February 6. Speaking of Artis, what in the world did he do to his hair? Whatever breaks the slump, I suppose.

Oregon’s bench was once again a source of scoring in the first half, outscoring the Beavers’ bench 24-3. At one point, Oregon’s bench held a 22-0 edge in scoring.

The Beavers eventually found a way to get around the trap, trimming Oregon’s lead from nine down to just one going into the half, with the Ducks leading 41-40.

The Beavers shot an astounding 74 percent in the first half, but their 10 turnovers prevented them from building on their early lead. The Ducks scored 15 points off of those turnovers.

The second half got off to a very back-and-forth start as the teams traded buckets. In the first 10 minutes, there were three ties and four lead changes.

Oregon used a 9-0 scoring run to regain a bit of control, fueled by a pair of three-pointers from Jason Calliste and Mike Moser. After a layup from Joseph Young, the Ducks led 63-57 with 11:47 to go.

A great offensive rebound from Ben Carter, including getting the ball back out up top, gave the Ducks the second chance opportunity which Young capitalized on with a drive to the rim. The layup gave the Ducks a 10-point lead, their largest of the night to that point. Young single-handedly took over, scoring 10 straight points for the Ducks. Young's tear was part of an 18-4 run for the Ducks to take control.

The Beavers, who shot 74 percent in the opening half, went cold as the second half progressed on. Between the 14:25 mark and the 2:46 mark, Oregon state hit just two field goals. The cold streak allowed the Ducks to put their foot on the gas pedal and pull away for the win.

Dominic Artis added a late three to give Oregon a lead so large (17 points) that Altman sent in the walk-ons for a little playing time to wrap things up.

Next up for the Ducks is the UCLA Bruins in a rematch of the wild double-overtime thriller last month in Los Angeles. The game tips off Thursday night at 6:00 pm, with the winner advancing to Friday night’s semifinal.