Elgin Cook Leads Oregon Ducks Team Effort Past Colorado

The Oregon Ducks started the night out in a big way on Thursday night against Colorado, but this time the game was in Eugene. Dana Altman watched his team use an 8-0 run to push the Oregon lead nearly out of reach in the first half, but the Buffaloes showed some fight. Oregon led 40-21 at the end of the first half that featured two double technical fouls and 8 Colorado turnovers. The Ducks had just 3 turnovers in the opening half.

One big difference was points from the free throw line. The Buffs at home several weeks ago put up 32 points from the charity stripe, in the first half against Oregon they had none, Oregon was 9 for 11 in the first half. The Ducks also had 19 rebounds in the first half and 14 points in the paint. Altman would look for the home team to maintain in the second half as Colorado started with the ball.

Elgin Cook would put in the first two points of the second half doubling up the Buffs 42-21. Oregon would then hit one of their next six shots and Colorado would go on a run of their own with George King hitting a three and pulling to within 15 of the Ducks. The Buffs would pull to within 12, but Oregon would see Chris Boucher hit two free throws to extend the lead back to 12 points with 12 minutes remaining in the game.

George King would pull Colorado to within 10 hitting a three point shot with just over 11 minutes left. Even though Oregon had a lead the last ten minutes of this one could determine a lot about this team. Elgin Cook continued with the hot hand an added two points pushing the lead back to 12. Tyler Dorsey would take a pass from Dwayne Benjamin and hit a three as the lead went to 15 for Oregon.

"We talked about our versatility all year. When he’s not in the game. We all know that if we make plays for each other we can put the ball in the hole. We just have to make plays for each other.Dwayne Benjamin on Not Having Dillon Brooks(Foul Trouble) On The Floor vs Colorado"

The Ducks would find foul trouble in the final 8 minutes of the game as Jordan Bell and Dillon Brooks would find themselves with 4 fouls. Tyler Dorsey and Casey Benson would each have two fouls. Oregon would maintain and extend their lead down the stretch. In looking at the stat sheet there was one area that Oregon dominated the game. Free throws. Oregon hit 17 of 19, Colorado was just 3 of 10. The Ducks would hold Colorado to 33 percent from the floor and see a hot start cooled off to 41 percent from the floor.

In the closing minutes Dillon Brooks would foul out and Chris Boucher would limp to the Oregon bench and be tended to by a trainer for several minutes. The Oregon Defense was swarming all night with 9 blocks, 6 from Boucher and 5 steals. It was a big win for Oregon at home and a statement win in the Pac-12, beating the second place the second place team and building their lead at the top of the Conference standings.

Next: Oregon Ducks Lose Key Recruit To USC

The Oregon Ducks would next welcome Utah to Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday for a 1pm Tipoff on ESPN2.