SEATTLE — With every open look, every shot Tyler Dorsey dropped through the basket, the grin got a little bit bigger and a little more noticeable.
Dorsey had every reason to smile after his performance for No. 15 Oregon in its Pac-12 road opener.
“It was just one of those nights where the basket just feels wide and everything felt like it was going to go in and it did tonight,” Dorsey said.
Dorsey made eight 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, and Oregon overcame foul trouble to pull away in the second half for an 83-61 win over Washington on Wednesday night.
Playing in an opponent’s gym for only the second time this season, the Ducks shook off foul problems for its two leading scorers — Dillon Brooks and Chris Boucher — to easily take care of the Huskies. Oregon (14-2, 3-0 Pac-12) was 14 of 26 on 3-pointers, led by Dorsey going 8 of 12.
The sophomore set a career high with his eight 3s, the most for an Oregon player since Tajuan Porter set the school record with 10 in 2006 against Portland State. Dorsey finished one point off his career high of 29 set earlier this season against Savannah State.
“I’ve been waiting for Tyler,” Oregon teammate Jordan Bell said. “I’ve been talking to him that he’s a shooting guard — shoot it. Let it go.”
Bell, who left in the first half with an apparent left knee injury only to return just before halftime, was the only other Oregon player in double figures with 10 points. Bell said he was initially concerned he tore his ACL after colliding knees with another player, but it turned out to be just a scare.
Brooks, averaging 14.8 points per game, had only eight.
“We had a lot of guys make contributions and Tyler, we did a good job of running a couple of things for him and he hit shots,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “Guys found him in transition and he just had one of those games.”
Markelle Fultz led Washington (7-7, 0-2) with 22 points, but the Huskies shot just 4 of 16 on 3s. David Crisp added 14 points.
“There’s no way you should let anybody come in and hit eight 3s on us,” Crisp said.
Oregon’s only other true road game this season came in its second game, a 66-49 loss to undefeated Baylor. The Ducks dropped their opener at the Maui Invitational but have now won 12 straight after taking care of their northern neighbors.
The Ducks took control with a 12-0 run late in the first half, only to see Washington surge to start the second half, pulling to 42-39. That was answered by a seven-point run by the Ducks — with five of the points coming from Dorsey — as the lead remained near double figures.
Even Brooks picking up his fourth foul with 10 minutes remaining didn’t matter. Washington got as close as 55-47 with 11:55 to go, but a pair of 3-pointers by Dorsey and his pass to Casey Benson open for a corner 3 quickly pushed the lead back to 18.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: The Ducks showed an ability to handle frontcourt issues, especially in the first half. Bell was helped off with 9:38 left in the half, Boucher picked up his second foul with 8:39 to go and Brooks got his third foul with 4:53 remaining. Yet the Ducks outscored Washington 25-15 during that stretch.
Washington: Fultz played after a whirlwind trip to the East Coast to attend the funeral of his great-grandmother. Fultz left the team following last Sunday’s loss to Washington State and arrived back in Seattle around 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
Washington’s football team outscored its basketball team when facing Oregon in the regular season. The Huskies beat the Ducks 70-21 on the football field in October.
ONLY MEETING
Due to the Pac-12’s rotating schedules, this was the only meeting between the Ducks and Huskies in the regular season. Last season the teams met only once — at Oregon. It was the first time in 100 years the Ducks and Huskies did not play in Seattle.
UP NEXT
Oregon: The Ducks travel to Pullman to face Washington State on Saturday.
Washington: The Huskies host Oregon State on Saturday afternoon.
