Dante, Richardson lead Ducks to 78-60 romp over USC

EUGENE, Ore. — N’Faly Dante scored 17 points, Will Richardson added 16 and Oregon posted a wire-to-wire 78-60 victory over Southern California on Thursday night.

Dante sank 8 of 11 shots from the floor for the Ducks (15-10, 9-5 Pac-12 Conference). He added five rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Richardson made 4 of 6 shots with two 3-pointers and hit all six of his free throws. Jermaine Couisnard had 13 points and Nate Bittle contributed 11 points and six rebounds.

Boogie Ellis led the Trojans (17-7, 9-4) with 19 points and four assists. Drew Peterson and Kobe Johnson added 11 points apiece. USC had a four-game win streak end.

Couisnard scored 11 points and N’Faly added nine to guide the Ducks to a 42-27 lead at halftime. Peterson hit a 3-pointer seven minutes into the game to pull the Trojans within 11-10. It was all Ducks after that.

Dante answered with a three-point play, igniting an 18-1 run and Oregon led 29-11 with 12 minutes left in the half. Kel’el Ware had back-to-back dunks in the run, the second leading to a three-point play.

USC got no closer than 14 points in the second half. The Ducks pushed their lead to 20 on three occasions.

Oregon shot 54% overall but made just 6 of 18 from beyond the arc. USC shot 41% and made only 4 of 16 from distance. The Trojans finished with 12 turnovers to Oregon’s 11, but the Ducks had a 17-3 edge in points off turnovers.

The Trojans lead the series 69-60, but the Ducks are 16-7 under current coach Dana Altman.

OREGON 78, USC 60

USC (17-7) — Iwuchukwu 4-5 0-1 8, Ellis 7-15 2-2 19, Johnson 4-10 2-3 11, Peterson 3-8 5-7 11, White 2-8 1-2 5, Niagu 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas 1-5 0-0 2, Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Sellers 1-3 0-0 2, Hornery 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 10-15 60.

OREGON (15-10) — Bittle 3-5 4-4 11, Dante 8-11 1-1 17, Couisnard 5-9 1-2 13, Richardson 4-6 6-6 16, Soares 0-5 0-0 0, Barthelemy 3-8 2-2 8, Guerrier 2-4 0-0 5, Ware 3-4 2-3 8, Rigsby 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Wur 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 16-18 78.

Halftime—Oregon 42-27. 3-Point Goals—USC 4-16 (Ellis 3-7, Johnson 1-4, Peterson 0-1, Thomas 0-1, White 0-1, Sellers 0-2), Oregon 6-18 (Richardson 2-4, Couisnard 2-5, Bittle 1-2, Guerrier 1-3, Soares 0-1, Barthelemy 0-3). Fouled Out—White. Rebounds—USC 24 (Iwuchukwu, White 6), Oregon 30 (Bittle, Richardson, Guerrier 6). Assists—USC 9 (Ellis 4), Oregon 18 (Richardson 9). Total Fouls—USC 20, Oregon 14.