The Oregon Ducks used hot shooting once again, especially from the outside, to complete a season sweep of Washington State Saturday afternoon. UO hit 11 of 20 three pointers contributing to a 68 eFG%. That was their second highest single-game eFG% of the season, their best being the first match-up between these two teams in Spokane.
Brock Motum had a hot start for the Cougs, but was quiet down the stretch as Oregon jumped ahead. Motum finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers. Reggie Moore was aggressive in taking shots, but didn't seem to go to the basket nearly as often as he did against Oregon State. Moore did not attempt a free throw, and shot 7 three-pointers. He finished with 12 points on 5-13 shooting and 7 assists.
The game was back and forth for most of the second half until WSU was unable to secure a missed free throw, leading to a tip-in from E.J. Singler with 6:32 left. That put UO in the lead for good, as they drained threes on the next two possessions to build a 64-58 lead from which WSU could not come back. Singler led all scorers with 23 points.
Defense continues to give the Cougars losses in games that the offense was certainly good enough to win. WSU turned the ball over just ten times in 58 possessions and finished with a 57 eFG%. The Cougs also rebounded well on the offensive end, grabbing about 42% of O-board opportunities.
The loss puts WSU at 5-8 in conference play with three straight home games upcoming. They will be back in Pullman this Thursday to take on the Arizona Wildcats at 6 pm Pacific. That game will be broadcast nationally on FSN and Root Sports.