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Cook returns home to lead Oregon’s opening win

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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MILWAUKEE — It was a happy homecoming for Elgin Cook, who scored a season-high 23 points as Oregon beat BYU 87-68 on Thursday afternoon in an NCAA Tournament second-round West Regional game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Cook, a Milwaukee native who was a City Conference player of the year as a junior at Hamilton High School, hit 6 of 7 shots from the field in the first halfand was 8 of 9 in the game.

“It was exciting to play in front of my hometown,” Cook said. “I’m glad we got the win. Whenever we get a win, that makes everything a lot better.”

Oregon advances to face second-seeded Wisconsin in a third-round game on Saturday.

Cook was one of three Oregon players to score in double figures. Guard Joseph Young added 19 points and guard Jason Calliste added 14.

The seventh-seeded Ducks shot 55 percent from the field for the game and were 15 of 27 from the field in the second half.

Oregon led by as many as 14 points in the first half. The Ducks held BYU to 28 percent shooting from the field and dominated down low, where Oregon had a 18-5 scoring advantage in the paint.

The Ducks got 21 points off the bench in the first half and led 39-31 at intermission.

BYU guard Matt Carlino sank a 3-pointer with 11:55 to play, getting the Cougars within three at 56-53, but the Ducks responded with a 17-7 run and led 73-60 with 7:42 to play.

“We had a really exciting week as far as our invitation to the tournament, but it was extremely difficult with the injury to Kyle (Collinsworth, torn right ACL),” BYU coach Dave Rose said.

“Our ability to fight through some real adversity and we cut it to three there in the second half and had some real momentum. I thought we could maybe fight through that, but Oregon was too good.”

Guard Tyler Haws led the Cougars, the No. 10 seed in the West, with 19 points. Carlino and forward Eric Mika finished with 15 each.

NOTES: Oregon and BYU faced off in a non-conference game this season. The Ducks won that meeting 100-96 in overtime on Dec. 21 in Eugene, Ore., to improve to 11-0 this year. … BYU has made the NCAA Tournament field seven times in eight seasons. … The Ducks are making their second consecutive tournament appearance for the third time in program history. … Oregon G Elgin Cook was born in Milwaukee, where his father, Alvin Robertson, played for the NBA’s Bucks from 1989 to 1992.

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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