UO release – EUGENE, Ore. – Balanced scoring and gritty second-half defense were the keys to success as Oregon men’s basketball prevailed, 78-71, over rival Oregon State for the second time in 12 days, earning head coach Dana Altman his 750th-career victory on Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena. After having numerous comeback attempts in the second half denied, the Ducks (19-9, 11-6 Pac-12) held the Beavers (12-17, 4-14 Pac-12) without a field goal for over six minutes towards the end of the period, allowing them to jump out in front and build a lead they did not surrender down the stretch. Oregon had five players reach double figures, led by 22 points and nine rebounds from Kwame Evans Jr. The freshman scored 14 in the second half, attacking the rim with aggression and knocking down free throws in the late stages in addition to big contributions on the defensive end. “Tonight KJ [Evans Jr.] had his nose going to the goal,” Altman said. “He got to the free-throw line more, he finished more, and did a tremendous job finishing plays at the rim which he’s struggled doing.” “I just focused on defense, it starts with me on defense,” Evans Jr. said. “I have to be able to talk to everybody and just get stops, we all have to talk to get stops, and then just play within the game and get shots here and there. They were looking for me so I was knocking them down.” Jermaine Couisnard poured in 16 points and notched six assists in 37 minutes of play, while Brennan Rigsby dropped 14 off of the bench. N’Faly Dante and Jackson Shelstad each finished the game with 11 points, with the former grabbing seven boards as well.
