The Oregon men’s basketball team corrected what was a poor 3-point shooting performance its last time out against Colorado, turning it into a strength on Saturday against Utah.
Two nights earlier, the Ducks' poor shooting had been masked by their flawless second-half defense. This time, those aspects flipped as the Ducks eeked out a nail-biting 80-77 victory against the Utes in Salt Lake City.
Will Richardson's 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-7 from deep, led the Oregon (15-7, 8-3 Pac-12), which shot an efficient 13 of 26 from 3-point range overall.
The Ducks have now won nine of their last 10 games.
Richardson displayed his full bag of moves throughout the matchup. He hit two step-back 3s and extended his shot to NBA range while getting to his left-handed runner with ease. The senior guard’s length proved stronger than any resistance the Utes defense threw at him.
“My coaches keep telling me to stay aggressive and that’s what I did today,” Richardson said. “The deep 3 was the shot they gave me so it’s the shot I took.”
His most impressive play came on an inbound pass in the final minute. The Utes mounted a comeback, relying on the energy of their arena and the chaos of their full-court press.
They cut a 12-point Ducks lead to three and forced a wayward inbound pass from Eric Williams Jr. Richardson leapt into the feet of the Utes’ bench, snatched the ball with one hand, and completed the motion, slinging it back to Williams who got fouled.
Richardson’s aggressive, basket-attacking mindset worked its way down the Ducks roster as contributions were aplenty.
Fellow guards, De’Vion Harmon (12 points) and Jacob Young (14 points), along with a breakout shooting performance from Quincy Gurrier (11 points), complemented Richardson’s play nicely.
Young methodically picked his spots, deferring the lead scoring duties to Richardson. Harmon favored tough left-handed drives that put the Utes defense on its heels and affected the game by establishing a presence in the passing lanes.
Guerrier, meanwhile, entered the night shooting 28-percent from deep, the worst on the team. The basket was like an ocean tonight for the junior forward, who shot 3 of 4 from behind the arc, along with a pair of clutch free throws with 13 seconds left to sustain the Ducks' 3-point advantage.
“Quincy’s been a little inconsistent with his 3s,” coach Dana Altman said. “But he was knocking them down so we drew up a few sets for him.”
The Utes found life surging back to start the second half. Although the Ducks' 3-point shot returned to form Saturday night, they sputtered at times while the Utes found the bottom of the net.
The Ducks had all but conceded the 14-point lead they had worked so hard to build with less than 6 minutes remaining in the second half, but Richardson found another gear. He hit a high-arching, left-wing 3 to restore a significant advantage. As the shot fell, audible groans permeated throughout Jon Huntsman Center.
One last-ditch effort revitalized the arena. Marco Anthony caught a lob off an inbounds play which sparked another run. The Utes felt the energy of the arena uptick and employed a full-court press that forced the Ducks into three costly turnovers.
The aforementioned Guerrier free-throws put the nail in the coffin as the Ducks escaped Utah with a narrow victory.
“We found a way to win, but we’re not always going to be that fortunate,” Altman said. “That’s not the way we wanted to finish, we’ve got to be tougher moving forward.”
Oregon returns home to host Stanford on Thursday.
