Big second half lets Oregon pull away from UTEP

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Jermaine Couisnard scored 15 of his team-leading 18 points in the second half, and Oregon held visiting Texas El-Paso to 24 points in the second half on its way to a 71-49 win Saturday night in Eugene, Ore. The Ducks (6-2) turned a three-point lead into an easy win by outscoring the Miners 43-24 in the second half. Though Oregon didn’t make a 3-point shot until early in the second half, they made four in the half, part of their 15-of-27 effort from the field after halftime. Kwame Evans Jr. finished with 12 points for Oregon. While both teams made 18 turnovers, Oregon scored 29 points off UTEP’s miscues, while the Miners managed just 11.

Tae Hardy’s 16 points lead UTEP (6-4), which made just 36 percent of its shots for the game (18 of 50). The Ducks put away the Miners midway through the second half, when Jackson Shelstad hit a transition 3-pointer and Evans knocked away a pass for a steal and fastbreak dunk. Those plays gave Oregon a 56-39 lead with 8:39 to play in the game. UTEP’s early plan was to pressure Oregon’s guards, the strength of the Ducks’ offense, and force the Ducks to take the ball sideline to baseline instead of down the middle. It threw off Oregon, which committed 12 first-half turnovers.

But the Ducks, despite taking eight fewer shots than the Miners and going 0 for 6 from 3-point range, took a 28-25 lead into the break on 9-for-17 shooting and 10-for-13 on free throws. Keeshawn Barthelemy’s eight points led the Ducks in the first half. Hardy had 13 of his points in the first half, as UTEP used a 16-2 run early in the game to grab an 18-10 lead with 8:36 to play in the half. Hardy had nine of his points in that stretch. But a pair of Jadrian Tracey free throws and a driving layup from Barthelemy gave Oregon a 24-21 lead with 2:14 to go in the half.

The defensive strategy worked for a half, but the Ducks started to make more shots from the perimeter. And when Couisnard muscled inside for a short jumper, his basket and free throw from being fouled gave Oregon a 50-39 lead with 10:40 to play.