|
 Minutes later, the top-seeded Ducks stormed midcourt to mob their
coach, Sweet 16-bound for the first time since 2013 after a 69-64
win over eighth-seeded Saint Joseph's in the second round of the
NCAA Tournament's West Region.
Seconds earlier, Dorsey dived on an uncharacteristic turnover from
Saint Joseph's star DeAndre' Bembry, who just lost a handle on the
ball. At the time, Oregon led 67-64 lead with 10 seconds left, and
Dorsey held on through an onslaught of Hawks vying for the ball. One
Hawks player threw himself into the pile, slamming into Dorsey.
Teammates had to calmly walk Dorsey, a freshman guard, away from the
situation.
"Free throws, free throws," one teammate reasoned.
"I just felt somebody collide on top of me very hard, so I didn't
know who it was," Dorsey said. "But I was fine, my teammates calmed
me down and that's about it."
Dorsey already might have had plenty of adrenaline in his system
after hitting a 3-pointer with 1:57 left to give Oregon a 61-60
lead.
Dillon Brooks lifted Oregon into the lead for good with a corner
3-pointer with 1:22 remaining, pushing the Ducks in front 64-62.
Brooks led all scorers with 25, teammate Elgin Cook had 18, and
Dorsey chipped in 14.
The teams traded leads four times with under three minutes
remaining. Oregon went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 58. The surge
followed a 23-6 run by Saint Joseph's that had shocked the arena and
given the Hawks a 58-51 lead.
"There was a little doubt there," Oregon coach Dana Altman said.
"Fortunately we have got guys that kind of like each other, and even
though some of them had made bad plays, there was no fingerpointing
or anything. Just, 'OK, we got to finish this.'"
Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli lamented his team's turnovers,
specifically the two in the final minute of action that allowed
Oregon to put that final stiff-arm on the Hawks.
"The players well tell you, I told them 10 turnovers and under, we
win going away," Martelli said. "We had 12. Eight in the first half,
two in the last couple of possessions."
Oregon's closeout pressure forced a shot-clock violation with 48
seconds left when Saint Joseph's forward Papa Ndao felt
uncomfortable launching a corner 3-pointer and dished it to Lamarr
Kimble, who couldn't get the shot up in time.
[to top of second column] |
Cook hit both ends of a one-and-one to put the Ducks on top 66-62
with 33 seconds remaining.
Bembry's turnover with 10 seconds left came on an option for the
junior wing to drive the lane and either get the layup or kick out
to Isaiah Miles for a 3-point attempt. The ball just got away from
him.
"You never know what could have happened," Bembry said "I blame this
loss on me, even though coach doesn't want me to say that. I can't
turn the ball over at the end of the game like that, especially
being the leader of this team."
Oregon led 32-27 at halftime. Saint Joseph's leading scorers Miles
and Bembry had trouble getting going, scoring only a combined four
points in the first half on 2-of-6 shooting. Bembry finished with a
team-high 16, and Miles had eight.
The Ducks, meanwhile, struggled from long distance, shooting
2-for-13 from beyond the arc in the opening half, 6-for-24 overall.
Cook and Brooks each had 10 to lead all scorers in the first half.
NOTES: Oregon's win over Holy Cross on Friday meant it is one of
five schools to have won a game in each of the last four NCAA
Tournaments, a list that also includes Spokane outfit Gonzaga. ...
With the win Sunday, Oregon broke the 29-win mark set by the 1939
Ducks squad, which captured the first-ever NCAA Tournament that
year. ... G Isaiah Miles' game-winning 3-pointer to lift Saint
Joseph's over Cincinnati was the first such shot of his life, the
senior said.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
