Oregon Basketball: Loyd Breaks Out, Ducks Beat Stanford 77-66, Altman Earns 600th Win

It was a big night at Matthew Knight Arena. A Sellout crowd watched a breakout performance from Junior Johnathan Loyd and help all around as the Oregon Ducks(22-6, 11-4 Pac 12) kept pace at the top of the division. Dana Altman also reached a milestone in the 77-66 victory over the Stanford Cardinal(16-12, 7-8 Pac 12) in earning his 600th win as head coach.

"“Lots of guys played well but Johnny was the guy who stirred the drink”Altman on Loyd’s Performance"

Feb, 21, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Johnathan Loyd (10) dribbles the ball against the California Golden Bears at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

The story of the night was Loyd, he came in back in January in relief of injured Freshman Dominic Artis and struggled, until last night. Of offense he was 6-8 from the floor with a career high 15 points and shoveled out 9 assists. His defense was spectacular with three steals. A far cry from Thursday night’s performance in the buzzer beater 48-46 loss to Cal on Thursday.

"“It felt great tonight, I needed it. My teammates had faith in me. They kept telling me they believed in me so I just stepped up.” Loyd on his performance against Stanford"

The Ducks spread the ball around on offense. Carlos Emory, off the bench led with 19 points, Arsalan Kazemi had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals.  E.J. Singler added 12 points and Tony Woods had nine points and nine rebounds for Oregon. Early on Freshman Damyean Dotson was showing off a nice jumper from the 12-15 foot range.

Oregon is winding down the Pac 12 season and will host Oregon State(13-15, 3-12 Pac 12)  in the Civil War on Thursday(8pm, ESPNU) for Senior night. Several Ducks including E.J. Singler, Tony Woods, and  Arsalan Kazemi will be playing their final game at Matthew Knight Arena(at least for the regular season). Dana Altman’s club then hit the road to face Colorado and Utah before heading to Las Vegas for the Pac 12 Tournament.

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Justin Phillips is Sports Reporter for Newsradio 1120 KPNW in Eugene, Oregon