Oregon Basketball: Kent's Cougars Get Past Ducks in Overtime Thriller

First-year Washington State head coach Ernie Kent got his first crack against his former school and took full advantage of it as his Cougars knocked off Oregon in overtime 108-99 at Beasley Coliseum Thursday night.

Kent played at Oregon from 1973 to 1977 and was the head coach of the program from 1997 to 2010 before being let go after two disappointing back-to-back seasons.

The Ducks needed a win in order to boost their NCAA tournament resume, but they fell just short, as a surging Cougars squad reeled off its third straight conference win to get to 3-1 in Pac-12 play.

Washington State and Oregon went back and forth throughout the entire game in what was a fast-paced scoring spree. The first half especially showed off an impressive shooting display from both teams.

Oregon shot a solid 55.3 percent from the field and also made six of its 11 three-pointers (54.5 percent), but Washington State was even better, shooting 72.4 percent from the field and going 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) from beyond the arc in the half. The Ducks trailed 57-52 heading into halftime.

Once the second half began, the two squads exchanged leads 10 different times before drama ensued in the final minute of regulation. With 42 seconds left and the Cougars leading 93-91, a questionable foul called on Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson, who led the team with 26 points and 13 rebounds, resulted in a disallowed Jordan Bell layup.

Bell went to the free-throw line in a one-and-one situation and missed his second free throw, meaning the Ducks still trailed 93-92.

DaVonte Lacy would make a free throw on the other end to give the Cougars a 94-92 lead with 40 seconds remaining, but a key play from Joseph Young to Elgin Cook for a left-handed layup knotted things up 11 seconds later and forced overtime.

In overtime, Washington State would go on to outscore Oregon 14-5, snapping a seven-game losing streak against the Ducks and matching its conference win total of three from last season.

By scoring 108 points, the Cougars surpassed the 100-point mark for the first time since 2002. The team's 108 points were the most points scored by Washington State since it racked up 114 points on Grambling State back in 1998.

Washington State finished the game by shooting 58.9 percent, while Oregon finished with a 49.4 percent shooting percentage.

Despite the disappointing loss, Young matched a season-high 32 points, while Cook scored a career-high 26 points and recorded 10 rebounds.

Oregon will look to bounce back Sunday night when it travels to rival Washington. It has won four of its last five meetings against the Huskies.