National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Oregon 76, Colorado 56
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 4, 2016
Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Oregon
Officials: # Thomas O'Neill, # Gerry Pollard, # Michael Greebstein
Attendance: 7226

EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon is leading the Pac-12 Conference, but not getting too comfortable in that spot.

Senior forward Elgin Cook scored 18 points as No. 16 Oregon defeated Colorado 76-56 on Thursday at Matthew Knight Arena.

Guard Tyler Dorsey added 13 points and center Chris Boucher had seven points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots as the Ducks (19-4) stayed in first place in the Pac-12 at 8-2 as they seek their first conference crown since 2001-02.

"With the balance in this league, it is hard to get full of yourself," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "We've got a long way to go and we can't take anything for granted. These guys have not been in this position."

Oregon won its fifth straight game and avenged its last loss, a 91-87 defeat at Colorado last month.

"We talked about how that was one of the games we lost and we didn't think we played our style in the first game," said Oregon forward Dwayne Benjamin, who had 11 points. "They are a good team, but we did not come out and play hard the first time. We gave up easy baskets and we wanted to switch that and pick it up."

Center Josh Scott led Colorado (17-6, 6-4) with 17 points while guard George King scored 16 points. The Buffaloes had 14 turnovers that led to 21 Oregon points and the Ducks had 12 second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds.

"Going into this game, there were two points of emphasis to beat the Oregon Ducks," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "One was to take care of the ball, and the other was to limit them to one shot. They had 33 points in those two categories. They scored 21 points off our turnovers and 12 second-chance points, and we lost by 20. Those are things that we can control. We can box out. We can take care of the ball. We get four points off our turnovers, they get 21off ours, that's the ballgame. We knew it coming in, so it's not like it's a revelation."

Oregon took a 40-21 halftime lead and added to it when Cook drove for a basket to open the second half and Dorsey added a jumper as the Ducks went ahead 44-22.

Colorado followed with seven straight points by King -- capped with a 3-pointer -- to get within 44-29 before forward Jordan Bell made two free throws for the Ducks. Forward Tory Miller scored four straight points for the Buffaloes and Scott added a basket to get Colorado within 46-35 before Boucher made two free throws for Oregon.

King made a 3-pointer to get Colorado within 50-40, but Oregon followed with seven straight points. Cook scored and Dorsey made a three-pointer before Cook scored again as Oregon went up 57-40 with 9:05 left to play.

Bell added two free throws and Benjamin added a layup to push the lead to 61-42.

"Teams want to continue to get better and peak at the end of the year and that is where we want to be," Oregon sophomore guard Casey Benson said. "We have more room to grow, but it is encouraging if we keep at it."

NOTES: Oregon clinched its sixth straight winning season for the first time since 1973-78. Coach Dana Altman has had a winning season for 19 consecutive years dating back to his time at Creighton, a streak that ranks sixth among active NCAA coaches. ... Colorado coach Tad Boyle began his coaching career as an assistant at Oregon from 1994-97. ... Oregon senior F Elgin Cook went over 1,000 career points (1,011).
Top Game Performances
 
Colorado   Oregon
Josh Scott 17 Scoring Elgin Cook 18
Xavier Talton 5 Assists Dillon Brooks 3
Josh Scott 8 Rebounds Chris Boucher 12
Josh Scott 3 Free Throws Made Tyler Dorsey 5
Xavier Talton 2 Steals Dwayne Benjamin 2
Tre'Shaun Fletcher 1 Blocks Chris Boucher 6
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Colorado 56 33.8 6-20 6-14 12 35 4 3 14
Oregon 76 41.0 8-24 18-21 11 34 9 5 6