Oregon men hold off Cardinal for key home win
N’Faly Dante may have struggled on Oregon’s latest road trip, but he was the driving force behind Oregon’s 68-60 victory over Stanford Thursday night.
“N’Faly gave us a big lift tonight and was much more active,” Dana Altman said. “He had a very productive 18 minutes, we were plus-10 in those minutes.”
De’Vion Harmon scored a season-high 21 points as the Ducks (16-7, 8-3) defeated the Cardinal (14-10, 7-6) 68-60 in Eugene — and likely ended Stanford’s shot at the big dance. For now, Oregon holds second place in the Pac-12 standings.
“De’Vion had a good shooting game,” Altman said. “I didn’t like his turnovers, but he shot the ball well.”
Dante (12 points on 5/6 FG, seven rebounds, two steals) didn’t miss a shot until the second half. Will Richardson didn’t make one until the second half.
The Ducks flirted with a double-digit cushion, but a 12-1 Stanford run cut the lead to three with 10 minutes to go.
“What went wrong is they got a bunch of shots at the rim…We hurried a couple shots inside,” Dana Altman said. “A lot of second-chance points there — that gave them a little burst.”
Then Richardson came alive, scoring all 12 of his points in the final 10 minutes. A few big plays from Quincy Guerrier (seven points, six boards) and Harmon (8/15, 3/6 from three) helped the Ducks keep distance.
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But even when Richardson (12 points, four rebounds, six assists, no turnovers) started scoring, something was off. The short runners he usually excels at were all off target.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can get a bucket,” Harmon said. “[Richardson] affected the game in other areas and that’s what coach pointed out in the locker room.”
The Cardinal wouldn’t go away, making three straight threes in the final three minutes. Still, Oregon did their job from the free throw line and held on for the slim victory.
Notes
Harmon led all scorers with 12 points on 5/8 shooting in the first half. The Ducks led 32-24 at halftime despite zero points from Richardson.
The Cardinal committed five fouls in the first 2:20 of the second half. They slightly out-shot Oregon (43% to 42%) and scored 25 bench points to Oregon’s seven.
Eric Williams Jr. did not have a point, going 0/5 from the field. Stanford’s Jaiden Delaire went scoreless as well, shooting 0/4.
Oregon host Pac-12 basement-dwellers Cal this Saturday at 1pm.
