Courtesy: GoDucks.com
LAS VEGAS — With a crisp clap of his hands and a tight smile, Dana Altman expressed both confidence and concern.
“We’re all right,” Altman told the Ducks as they brought the ball upcourt after being smacked in the mouth by Colorado on Thursday night. The Buffaloes, who played one night earlier, scored seven straight to open the game against the Ducks, who hadn’t played in a week.
Though Oregon responded with two quick baskets, it would be a while before the Ducks did indeed seem all right. Colorado led by as many as 11 midway through the first half, before scintillating second-half shooting sent the UO men on to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals with a 93-85 victory over the Buffaloes.
Later, Altman would admit considering a timeout to stanch the early bleeding. Instead, he stuck by his guys.
“I just felt we were going to be OK,” Altman said. “It was a new situation for our guys, with the exception of (Joseph Young and Elgin Cook); we just didn’t have anybody out there who had been through it. Freshmen were playing like freshmen. And they’re just going to take a while to burn through it. We were just hoping we didn’t get down too far.”
At the time, 29-18 seemed pretty far. Then, the Ducks found their legs.
Jalil Abdul-Bassit hit a three-pointer, Oregon’s first after eight misses to open the game. Young hit another, to tie it 31-31. Colorado answered, but Abdul-Bassit hit again from deep, and the Ducks had their first lead.
The Buffaloes rallied to go into halftime up 37-34. For the Ducks in the locker room, the mood again was a mix of confidence and concern.
“Everybody was real confident,” said Cook, whose nine first-half points kept the Ducks close until the shooters got going. “But it kind of gave us more sense of urgency, that we had to execute and we had to be more active. Come out and play as hard as we can.”
As usual, Altman looked to jump-start his team on the defensive end. The Ducks went into a three-quarter-court press, and scored 27 points off 13 turnovers by Colorado — “the difference in the game,” Altman said.
Young, Dwayne Benjamin and Dillon Brooks all had dunks off Colorado turnovers during a decisive 28-10 run on which Oregon made 13-of-14 shots. “Seeing the ball turned over and turned into layups, that was frustrating,” Colorado forward Josh Scott said.
The press was a huge factor in setting up quality scoring chances. “It got us moving,” Altman said. “We were dead to start the game. I must have put them to sleep before the game with my inspirational speech, because our activity just wasn’t any good.”
And, of course, it helped that Oregon had the Pac-12 player of the year. If anyone doubted Young’s selection over T.J. McConnell of Arizona and Delon Wright of Utah before Thursday, they likely didn’t after Young’s 30-point performance against Colorado.
Just 3-of-10 for eight points in the first half, Young made 9-of-12 for 22 points in the second half, part of a remarkable 22-of-29 performance overall by the Ducks after halftime. “It’s really my teammates setting picks, finding me when I was open and coach calling the right plays,” Young said. “It’s all about my team.”
Colorado coach Tad Boyle said the Buffaloes wanted to double-team Young off ball screens and make somebody else beat them. The Buffs didn’t execute that strategy well in their coach’s eyes, but Young had one of those nights when it might not have mattered.
Colorado mustered a late rally, but Young was there to stop their momentum at key junctures. He hit a jumper to keep Oregon comfortably ahead at 80-71, and had an acrobatic drive to the rim for an 82-76 lead after the Buffaloes closed within four.
Afterward the Ducks could lament their slow start. But their finish was emphatic. Altman trusted his players to weather Colorado’s early storm, and in the end it was Oregon that made it rain, tying the tournament record with 59 points in the second half.
