Richardson leads Oregon's rally as the Ducks beat the Beavers in New Year's Eve showdown
Will Richardson got the festivities started a little early on New Year’s Eve.
Oregon’s senior point guard played like a leader Saturday, pacing the Ducks’ late-game surge to put away Oregon State 77-68 in a Pac-12 men’s basketball game in front of 7,001 on the final evening of 2022 at Matthew Knight Arena.
After Oregon (8-6, 2-1 Pac-12) had lost all of its 14-point second-half advantage, Richardson both sparked its rally and secured the finish with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal during what was a 20-8 game-ending run for the Ducks that began with them trailing 60-57 with 8:42 to play.
“He just made big play after big play,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “He was by far the best player on the floor tonight in my opinion. I thought he played great.”
Richardson finished with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and just one turnover while playing all 40 minutes.
But it was his performance at the end that was most memorable, as he went 4-for-4 from the field, including a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 1:39 to play that gave the Ducks a 76-68 advantage.
“Those are the shots I gotta make,” Richardson said. “Not even make, but those are shots I gotta take, you know? Just being the team leader and being that guy.”
Richardson’s night was just a continuation of what’s been an elite level of play the last nine games, a stretch in which he’s had three 20-plus point games, Oregon’s first triple-double in 20 years and averages of 18.8 points, 7.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals.
“I’m not excited about where we’re at, but if we didn’t have him, we’d really be struggling,” Altman said. “We’ve got the ball in his hands 90% of the time. We’d be in big trouble without his leadership and without his production. He’s keeping the team together.”
Starting center N’Faly Dante also had 17 points and eight rebounds while being limited to 18 minutes with foul trouble.
Reserve center Kel’el Ware had 13 points and six rebounds and forward Quincy Guerrier also had 13 points.
Oregon closed out the first half on a 10-3 run to take a 44-31 lead into the break.
That advantage was 14 points — 47-33 — in the opening minutes of the second half when the Beavers (7-7, 1-2) went on a 20-4 run to take a 53-51 lead with 11:34 to play.
The Ducks were 2-for-11 from the field with three turnovers during that time.
“We can’t have stretches like that,” Altman said. “Our offense isn’t efficient enough right now to have stretches like that.”
Minutes later, with the Beavers still holding a three-point lead, Richardson took over and led the Ducks to their sixth win in their last eight games.
Oregon outrebounded Oregon State 39-21, including 17-4 on the offensive end that led to 19 second-chance points for the Ducks.
The Beavers shot a little better, making 48% (24-for-50) of their attempts to 47% (27-for-57) for Oregon. The Ducks also made just six of their 22 (27%) 3-point attempts.
Dexter Akanno led Oregon State with 20 points.
“I thought we made a step,” Altman said. “But we don’t win that game without Will buckling down that last part of it, not only offensively but I thought he did a good job defensively also.”
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
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Oregon vs. Colorado
6 p.m., Thursday at CU Events Center, Boulder, Colorado. TV: ESPN2 or ESPNU. Radio: KUJZ-FM (95.3).
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks rally to beat Oregon State in Pac-12 men's basketball
