by Rob Moseley

Editor, GoDucks.com

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon basketball team welcomed two players back from injury and avoided losing consecutive games for the first time all season, as the Ducks beat UC Irvine on Tuesday, 78-63, before 5,863 in Matthew Knight Arena.

How It Happened: The Ducks (8-2) had the Anteaters out of sorts early, scoring 12 of their first 13 points off turnovers. A dunk off a turnover by Elgin Cook made it 13-5, and a three-pointer from Tyler Dorsey — back after two games missed to injury — put Oregon up 18-9.

Oregon moved the ball as well as it has all season, thanks in no small part to Casey Benson. The sophomore guard got off a pass as he was falling down to set up Dillon Brooks for a three-point play and a 23-13 lead. Two possessions later, Brooks worked hard to secure a loose ball and then assisted on a three-pointer by Dorsey for a 28-16 edge.

It was 32-16 when Irvine mounted its best charge of the night. The Anteaters (7-4) put together a 10-0 run, fueled in part by two free throws plus a made basket after a flagrant foul on Chris Boucher. But Oregon rallied for a 44-36 halftime lead, then opened the second half with an 18-6 run. The lead was never less than 12 after that.

Who Stood Out: Cook finished with a season-high 26 points, his second straight 20-point outing and a welcome return to form after an up-and-down start to the season. Brooks added 16, Jordan Bell and Dorsey scored 12 apiece and Boucher added 11 with 13 rebounds and four blocks. Benson went scoreless, but he had nine assists with no turnovers to match his career high.



What It Means: With Dorsey and Dwayne Benjamin both available after recent injury scares, Oregon had 10 scholarship players in uniform for the first time this season. They await only the return of Dylan Ennis in the next couple of weeks, to have the full roster available at least.

Quotable:

Dana Altman

On Cook's career night

“His father flew in for the game, and obviously he listens to his dad a lot better than he listens to me. He played a heck of a game. … He made a big jump from his sophomore to his junior season, and we expected that same jump this year. Guys are going to look to him; he's been here the longest. He's so athletic, guys respect that. He's got to do a good job for us, no doubt about it.”

Dillon Brooks

On Oregon's ball movement

“We were just really trying to make plays for our teammates and get our assist ratio up, our assist-to-turnover ratio. That just increases our chances of winning.”



Notable: Benson now has 31 assists in 10 games on the season, against two turnovers. He needed to average three assists per game to qualify for the national leaders, and is all but certain to lead the NCAA with his 15.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio come Wednesday. … The Ducks assisted on 19-of-27 made field goals, 70.4 percent, topping their previous season best of 65.5 percent (19-of-29) against Arkansas State. … Bell's 12 points were a career-high, and he matched another with three steals. … Former UO football assistant coach Scott Frost attended the game and sat near midcourt. Frost has a break in his new duties as head coach at Central Florida, due to a dead period on the recruiting calendar.

Up Next: The Ducks are back in action Friday in Matthew Knight Arena against Long Beach State (6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).