Soares Hits Game Winner in Corvallis
Rivaldo Soares scored his only five points of the night in the final minute, making a game-tying three and then the game winner in a 69-67 win at OSU. UO release – CORVALLIS, Ore. — Rivaldo Soares hit a game-tying three-pointer and the game-winning jump shot in the final minute Saturday to give the Oregon men’s basketball team a 69-67 victory over Oregon State before 7,270 fans in Gill Coliseum. Up 10 three different times in the second half, the Ducks (10-8, 16-13) allowed OSU to come back and lead by five with 2:10 to play. But the UO men rallied back to end a three-game losing streak and head into the final week of the regular season with some momentum. “Waldo hit a couple of big shots there,” UO coach Dana Altman said, using Soares’ nickname. “The first one was pretty open in the corner; the second one was pretty contested. But he knocked a couple of big shots down, and sometimes that’s what you need.” N’Faly Dante had 16 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Ducks on the night, and Jermaine Couisnard added 12 before fouling out. Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 11 and Quincy Guerrier had 10, with Soares scoring his only five points of the night in the final minute — with both baskets assisted by Will Richardson. “Knowing that Will’s a playmaker, he’s not going to force up a shot that he doesn’t have,” Soares said. “I tried to keep moving for him, he found me, and the rest is history. It just felt like a great shot going up.” How It Happened: The Ducks started well, and a 7-0 run that included five points from Couisnard followed by a layup from Dante put Oregon up 14-7. OSU answered with six straight, but Oregon’s next three buckets were Couisnard’s second three of the game plus a pair of three-pointers by Barthelemy to keep the Beavers at bay. Barthelemy scored moments later to again keep the Ducks out in front, 25-22, before OSU used a 7-2 run to take the lead. But Oregon scored the last eight points of the first half, including threes by Lök Wur and Guerrier for a 35-29 lead. The teams traded baskets early in the second half, with Nate Bittle completing a three-point play to give the Ducks their first 10-point lead at 43-33. Guerrier answered two OSU buckets with two for Oregon, getting the lead back to 10 both times. But from there Oregon State rallied, eventually taking a 55-54 lead with 7:29 to go after back-to-back threes. Guerrier hit another three to put the Ducks up 58-55 before OSU mounted a 10-2 run broken up only by two second-chance points for Dante. The run ended with two free throws from Dante, and after an OSU miss Richardson made two more free throws to get the Ducks within 65-64. The Beavers scored at the other end, but Soares hit a game-tying three, and after Oregon got a stop defensively, Richardson hit Soares for the game winner. Notable: Brennan Rigsby did not suit up for the game due to an ankle injury. … Richardson’s seven assists gave him 490 in his career, 10 away from tying Luke Ridnour (2000-03) for No. 4 in UO history. … Richardson has now appeared in 144 games with the Ducks, tied for the most in school history with Johnathan Loyd (2010-14) and Payton Pritchard (2016-20). Quotable: UO coach Dana Altman on the momentum swings Saturday, “It was a game that we had pretty good control of and then, (due to) the boards and a couple bad turnovers, let him get back in it. Down five there, it didn’t look good. And Dante had a couple of big free throws, Will hit a couple big free throws that kept us in the game, and then (Soares) hit a big shot.” Up Next: The Ducks host California in Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday (8 p.m., FS1). Oregon State (4-14, 10-19) hosts Stanford Thursday, Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks.
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Oregon’s women finished the Pac-12 basketball regular season with wins over Arizona and Arizona State at Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene. The Ducks downed Arizona 73-59 Thursday and finished with a 77-48 win over Arizona State. Oregon (7-11, 16-13) will next play in the Pac-12 Tournament, Las Vegas, Wednesday, March 1, 2:30 p.m., against Washington on the Pac-12 Networks. Oregon State got a split on the final regular season weekend. The Beavers fell to visiting Arizona State 75-73 on Thursday, but came back and beat Arizona 78-70 Saturday at Gill Coliseum, Corvallis. OSU (4-14, 12-17) will next open the Pac-12 Tournament, Las Vegas, Wednesday, March 1, 8:30 p.m., against USC.
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At the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic softball tournament, Cathedral City, CA, Oregon won four-out-of-five games. The Ducks lost their opener Friday 5-0 to Cal State Fullerton, but then beat Northwestern Friday 2-1, beat Florida Saturday 8-0 & Missouri 6-4, before finishing the tourney on Sunday with a 2-1 win over UC San Diego. Oregon (12-3) has the Judi Garman Classic at Fullerton, CA beginning Thursday against Fresno State. At Palm Springs, Oregon State went 3-2 as part of the Mary Nutter Classic. The Beavers beat Missouri Friday 3-2, & CSUN 5-1; Saturday OSU lost to Cal State Fullerton 4-0 & Ohio State 6-0; Sunday was a 2-1 win over Iowa. Oregon State (7-8) heads to the Utah Tech Tournament, St. George, Utah, Thursday and open against Brigham Young.
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Visiting UC Santa Barbara swept all three collegiate baseball games from Oregon at PK Park, Eugene, over the weekend. UCSB won Friday 6-2; Saturday 10-0 & 4-1. The Ducks (4-3) host San Diego for four-games beginning Thursday at Eugene. Oregon State’s baseball team swept visiting Coppin State at Goss Stadium, Corvallis. The Beavers won Friday 11-1, Saturday 16-0 & Sunday 19-5. OSU (6-1) plays Cal Poly at Baggett Stadium, San Luis Obispo, CA, Thursday.