Oregon overcomes late scoring drought, knocks off Utah

N'Faly Dante scored 19 points and Oregon held off Utah for a 66-65 victory on Saturday night in Eugene, Ore.

Dante made 8 of 9 shots from the field and added 12 rebounds to record his third straight double-double and seventh of the season for the Ducks (20-11, 12-8 Pac-12), who snapped a two-game skid. Jermaine Couisnard added 14 points and Jackson Shelstad chipped in 12.

Couisnard completed the scoring for Oregon with a free throw with 4:06 left in the game, giving the Ducks a 66-60 edge.

Gabe Madsen hit a 3-pointer and Deivon Smith sank a pair of free throws as the Utes (18-13, 9-11) crept within one with 38 seconds remaining.

Following Smith's foul shots, Couisnard missed a layup on the other end and Madsen came down with the rebound. Ben Carlson then missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final second, giving Utah its second straight loss.

Branden Carlson paced the Utes with 19 points. Smith finished with 15 to go along with six boards, and Madsen had 14 points.

Utah took its largest lead of the game at 45-37 following a Branden Carlson layup with 17:59 left in the second half. But the Ducks quickly stole momentum, using an 11-2 run to snag a 48-47 edge with 13 minutes remaining.

That narrow lead didn't last for long, as Hunter Erickson canned a 3-pointer 23 seconds later, then connected again from deep to put the visitors up 53-48.

Oregon responded with the game's next 10 points, a run that included Dante's dunk with 9:12 to go that provided the Ducks with the lead for good.

Branden Carlson and Ben Carlson combined for all of the Utes' points during a 7-4 run that Utah used to close the first half, providing it with a 37-32 lead at the break.

Both teams had similar shooting splits for the game, with Oregon just barely outshooting the visitors 41.7 percent to 41.1 percent from the floor. The Ducks made just 4 of 20 threes, while the Utes drilled 10 of 26.

—Field Level Media