Second-half comeback propels Huskies over Ducks
SEATTLE – No one hit bigger shots for Washington on Sunday night than Donaven Dorsey.
Andrew Andrews led the Huskies with a season-high 21 points and Nigel Williams-Goss added 20 in Washington’s 85-77 win against Oregon, but it was Dorsey who made the big shots just when the Huskies needed them.
Dorsey’s first points of the night came on a 3-pointer to end a 23-2 Oregon run in the first half. In the second half, a pair of Dorsey 3-pointers keyed an 11-point Washington run that gave the Huskies the lead for good.
The freshman finished with 13 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting, including hitting all three of his 3-point attempts. His performance helped Washington (13-4, 2-3 Pac-12) come back from a 10-point halftime deficit for its second win in a row after losing four straight.
“He definitely helps loosen everything up when he’s knocking shots down,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “Our guys know it. Our guys find him. If he hits one, our guys are looking for him.”
Dorsey reached double figures for the second time this season.
Robert Upshaw had his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds for Washington.
The game was tied at 59 with 8:25 to play before the Huskies took the lead for good with an 11-0 run. The stretch included Dorsey’s two 3-pointers and a three-point play by Shawn Kemp, Jr., who was fouled on an alley-oop dunk.
In the first half, the Ducks used a flurry of 3-pointers and dunks to open a big lead. Oregon hit three straight 3-pointers to go up 15-14, then, after a Washington basket, reeled off three straight dunks to start a stunning 14-point run.
“Early, Oregon was playing really good,” Dorsey said. “They came out and started playing a lot harder than us. We usually don’t come out and play really soft, so it was kind of an adjustment we had to make, and we had to come out and play a lot harder.”
Dillon Brooks led Oregon (12-6, 2-3) with 16 points and Dwayne Benjamin scored 15.
“We didn’t guard,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “We scored enough points in both games, but defensively we didn’t do a good job.”
The Ducks led 42-32 at halftime but the Huskies quickly showed they were going to make a game of it. Williams-Goss opened the second half with a 3 to cut the lead to seven, a shot Romar said helped the team mentally.
Mike Anderson’s 3-pointer with 13:09 to play – set up by an Upshaw block on defense – put the Huskies ahead 52-50, their first lead since Oregon’s big run.