Moser Powers Ducks to a Win over Washington State, 67-53

Oregon Sophomore Damyean Dotson on Friday night was cited for having identification that was not legal when he entered the premises of a local bar in Eugene. Police questioned and released Dotson and Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman said he would wait for all the facts and any decision about playing time would be handled internally. It appears that that decision meant not playing against the Cougars on Sunday. Jason Calliste would start in his place.

Oregon entered the game against Washington State on a two game winning streak, but the did not start the game that way. After winning the opening tip Oregon missed their first two free throws from Waverly Austin and were down by as much as six in the first ten minutes of play before Elgin Cook woke up the crowd with a huge dunk bringing Oregon within a point.

Jan 26, 2014; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars guard Royce Woolridge (22) puts up a shot against Oregon Ducks forward Mike Moser (0) during the first half at Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

The Offense for the rest of the first half was well, offensive. The Ducks were without a three point shot that was good until the six minute mark of the first half. The shot was made by Senior Mike Moser. The team leading the Pac-12 in scoring looked nothing like the team that scored 93 points against Oregon State last Sunday in the Civil War. Thankfully Washington State was never really able to take much of an advantage until the Ducks woke up. After starting the game 0-4 on three point attempts Oregon made three in a row.

For the first half Oregon had seven turnovers and shot 40 percent from the floor. Washington State hit 45 percent of their shots. Rebounding went the Cougars way with an eighteen to eight advantage to close out the first half.

The second half started a lot better than the first half with a Mike Moser slam dunk, followed by a three pointer, also by Moser bringing Oregon within 2. The Senior continued to have the hot hand for the Ducks hitting three straight shots from beyond the line and giving the Ducks a lead they would not relinquish. The Cougars would get within two before Oregon took control and clamped down on defense with about 10 minutes to go in the game.

Oregon Guard Joseph Young hit his first two three point shot of the game with just over five minutes to play extending the Ducks lead to 58-46. For the game Oregon shot close to 50 percent from inside the line and just over 50 percent from beyond. The second half was clearly led by Senior Mike Moser who finished the game with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Joseph Young had 18 points for the Ducks.

Oregon(18-8, 6-8 Pac-12) now heads South Down I-5 to UCLA to take on the Bruins(Thursday, 8pm PT, ESPN2).