Oregon 87, BYU 68

MILWAUKEE — It was a happy homecoming for Elgin Cook, who scored a season-high 23 points as Oregon beat BYU, 87-68, 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 six of seven shots in the first half and was 8 for 9 in the game.

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

He was one of three Oregon players to score in double figures. Guard Joseph Young added 19 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 in the first half. The Ducks held BYU to 28 percent shooting 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, 56-53, but the Ducks responded with a 17-7 and led, 73-60, with 7:42 to play.

Guard Tyler Haws led the Cougars, the 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 in overtime, 100-96, on Dec. 21 in Eugene, Ore., to improve to 11-0 on the 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 1989-1992