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No. 13 Oregon obliterates Oregon State

By The Sports Xchange

EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon enjoyed the 347th Civil War more than any of the previous ones.

The 13th-ranked Ducks scored the first 21 points and blew away Oregon State 85-43 Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena. It was the largest margin of victory in any of Oregon's 161 all-time victories over the Beavers.

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"It was definitely fun hearing the crowd and everything," Oregon freshman guard Payton Pritchard said. "That is how we want to start every game."

Pritchard led Oregon (16-2, 5-0) with 17 points, while senior guard Dylan Ennis added 16 as the Ducks shot 51.9 percent from the field while making 11 of 23 3-point attempts. Junior guard Casey Benson and junior forward Dillon Brooks each added 11 points for the Ducks, who won their 14th consecutive game and moved into a tie for first place with Arizona in the Pac-12 Conference.

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"We just have to continue to get better this year, that is what we are focused on," Benson said. "We had some early slipups, but we have focused on getting better each practice and each game. We still have a chance to be really, really good. We have room to grow, and that is exciting."

Center Drew Eubanks scored 19 points to pace the Beavers (4-14, 0-5). Guard Stephen Thompson Jr. added 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Oregon got off to a fast start as Ennis had a 3-pointer and forward Jordan Bell added a dunk before Ennis followed with another bucket and a 3-pointer to put the Ducks ahead 10-0. Brooks converted a 3-pointer and Benson hit a 3-pointer before Ennis added a 3-pointer and center Chris Boucher scored to put Oregon ahead 21-0.

"We got into a rhythm on offense, and defensively we made it tough on them," Benson said. "It took them nine or 10 minutes to score, and we let that fuel us to get us going."

Oregon State finally got a basket from Eubanks with 10:43 left to play before the break, but Pritchard answered with a three-point play and a 3-pointer. Benson put Oregon ahead 29-6 before guard Kendal Manuel scored for the Beavers.

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Boucher dunked and guard Tyler Dorsey made two free throws to put the Ducks ahead 33-11, and Brooks followed with a dunk. Oregon scored the final six points of the half, culminating with four free throws from forward Roman Sorkin to take a 41-13 lead at the break.

"I thought we came out with defensive intensity that was very good to start the game," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "I liked our activity the whole first half. I don't remember them getting too many easy baskets because we flew around pretty good."

Brooks opened the second half with a layup and Boucher added a basket before Pritchard hit a 3-pointer as the Ducks went up 48-15. The Ducks stretched the lead to 61-24 on a dunk by Boucher.

Pritchard boosted the margin to 40 points in the final minutes before the Ducks finished off a 42-point victory. Oregon's previous largest margin of victory over Oregon State was 29 points.

The Beavers shot 31.4 percent from the field.

"We knew what we were coming into," Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. "This is a big-time environment and a big-time stage, and unfortunately we didn't step up to it. I think we were nervous. They came out and got physical with us, and we had a couple of guys that didn't know how to respond to their physicality."

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NOTES:

-- Oregon State played its 12th straight game without leading scorer sophomore F Tres Tinkle, who remains out indefinitely with a broken wrist. Senior C Cheikh N'diaye missed his ninth straight game with a shoulder injury.

-- Oregon's 14th straight win is tied for the second-longest streak in school history behind a 15-game run in 1912-13.

-- Oregon's 36-game home winning streak is the second-longest active NCAA streak behind Kansas' 49-game run.

-- The Civil War is the most-played rivalry in NCAA basketball.

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