EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Will Richardson scored 17 points and Oregon held off UC Riverside for a 71-65 victory on Wednesday night.
The game was tied at 58 with 7:34 remaining and UC Riverside kept it close, trailing just 65-63 with 2:18 to play. But De’Vion Harmon answered with a three-point play for the Ducks and N’Faly Dante sealed it at the free-throw line.
Oregon (5-3) has won consecutive games since its 78-49 loss to then-No. 12 Houston in the Maui Invitational. The Ducks open Pac-12 play on Sunday hosting Arizona State, which scored it fewest points in 75 years in a 51-29 home loss to Washington State.
Dante finished with 12 points. Eric Williams Jr. added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Ducks, who shot 55% (26 of 47) from the floor and 43% (9 of 21) from beyond the arc.
UC Riverside (5-4) shot 53% overall but just 23.5% (4 of 17) from 3-point range.
Dominick Pickett scored 15 points to lead the Highlanders. Callum McRae and Zyon Pullin added 12 points apiece.
Oregon has scored 100-plus points in each of the previous two matchups with the Highlanders. A 100-89 win in 1981 and a 108-67 victory in 2002 that extended the Ducks home winning streak to 23 games, tying the school record from 1937-39.
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