• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Young advances Oregon past Oklahoma State

Mar 21, 2015 - 3:59 AM Omaha, NE (SportsNetwork.com) - Joseph Young scored a game-high 27 points to lead Oregon in a 79-73 victory over Oklahoma State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament West Region.

Elgin Cook scored 18 points with five rebounds and Dillon Brooks added 17 points for the eighth-seeded Ducks (26-9), who had won seven straight before losing to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament final to garner an at-large nod in the NCAA Tournament.

"Scoring 79 points against Oklahoma State, whose defensive numbers are very impressive, is a good offensive performance," said Oregon head coach Dana Altman. "Defensively, at times we gave up a few easy baskets. But I thought it was a good basketball game."

Oregon moves on to take on Wisconsin in Sunday's third round.

Le'Bryan Nash scored 18 points with seven rebounds and Anthony Hickey gave 17 points for the ninth-seeded Cowboys (18-14), who gained a tournament nod despite losing six of their final seven games, including a loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament.

"We played pretty good for us offensively," said Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford. "For us to go out and score 73 points with 12 turnovers is not bad, but they just outscored us. We didn't have an answer. We have struggled a lot this year with teams that score a lot of points, and give them credit; they made big shots, at big moments."

Oklahoma State held a 60-56 lead with 13 minutes to play after Phil Forte put in a layup, but Oregon grabbed the advantage back with a 14-2 run that was capped on a Dewayne Benjamin steal and slam for a 70-62 lead with seven minutes to play.

The Cowboys notched the next seven points to get back within one on Tavarius Shine's 3-ball with four minutes to play, but Brooks answered with a 3-pointer and Bell followed with a dunk.

That proved to be the back-breaker as the Cowboys were never able to make it a one-possession game the rest of the way.

A 6-0 run from Oregon staked the team to a 19-14 lead after Brooks tipped the ball in with 12 1/2 to play, but Oklahoma State answered with nine straight and held a 23-19 advantage off a Forte layup.

The Cowboys took a 36-28 lead after Hickey nailed a 3 with five minutes to play, but Young countered with a pair of 3-balls then hit two free throws to tie the game.

Nash then connected for a basket, Young made another deep ball and, after Nash put in a free throw, it was Young again on a jumper. He closed the half with a pair of free throws to give the Ducks a 43-39 lead at the break.

Game Notes

Oregon improved to 16-11 in this event, which the team is in for the 13th time ... Oklahoma State fell to 38-26 in their brief 26th appearance in the tourney ... Oregon shot a crisp 54.7 percent, while Oklahoma State made just 45.0 percent of its shots ... The Ducks have won all three games against the Cowboys.