EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon Ducks play good basketball, but they’re even better magicians.
How else could the Ducks have made a 6-foot-10, 245-pound man disappear before 10,071 witnesses Saturday afternoon?
Oregon held Washington State star Brock Motum to one point and no field-goal attempts in the final 15 minutes of the Ducks’ 78-69 triumph at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Pacific-12 Conference game was close all the way and well-played by both teams. Oregon hit four free throws for the only points in the final 24 seconds to open up the largest lead held by either side.
“We gave a lot of good effort out there,” WSU guard Mike Ladd said. “It just came down to defensive stops. They made a lot of 3s, especially in crunch time.”
Oregon went ahead to stay when Garrett Sim and Devoe Joseph buried back-to-back 3-pointers to snap a 58-58 tie created by Motum’s free throw with 6 minutes, 18 seconds remaining.
The Cougars cut the deficit to five when Abe Lodwick knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:21 to go. Sim then turned it over, but DaVonte Lacy’s 3-point try rattled in and out with 38 seconds remaining to effectively end WSU’s comeback bid.
“Down the stretch, they hit shots and we didn’t,” Motum said.
Motum scored 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor. He had five rebounds and five assists.
In the previous four games, Motum averaged 27.2 points and 16 field-goal attempts.
Ladd and WSU coach Ken Bone credited Oregon with good defensive work against Motum, particularly in the late going. Oregon coach Dana Altman said he was disappointed in his team’s overall defense, but he praised E.J. Singler for stepping up his defensive work against Motum late in the game.
“He’s just a good scorer,” Singler said. “He can shoot it, and he can drive it.
“He’s a lot stronger than he looks. Eighty percent of the time, he goes left.”
Singler, supported by solid 16-point efforts from Sim and Joseph, led the Ducks (18-7 overall, 9-4 Pac-12) with 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 accuracy from 3-point range. He had six rebounds, three assists and one turnover in 33 minutes.
“He brings it,” Altman said of Singler. “I am never worried whether he is ready to play or not.”
Ladd has similar qualities. Continuing to play with his torn right-thumb ligament heavily bandaged, the Fresno State transfer tied his season high of 13 points (set in the season opener at Gonzaga) on 6-of-8 shooting.
“I don’t think pain is going to matter to him because he’s a good competitor,” Motum said. “He’s giving his all for the team.”
WSU (13-12, 5-8) fell to 1-6 in Pac-12 road games. Bone and point guard Reggie Moore said Thursday’s win at Oregon State and the Oregon game represent the Cougars’ best back-to-back road games.
The Ducks shot 55 percent, compared with 50 percent for WSU. Oregon had one more assist (16) and turnover (11) than the Cougars. Both teams had 25 rebounds.
“We did a lot of good stuff,” said Moore, who had 12 points and a game-high six assists. “We played good basketball.”
Arizona (18-8, 9-4) visits Washington State on Thursday. Root Sports will televise the 6 p.m. game.
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