SALT LAKE CITY — Dillon Brooks had 23 points and eight rebounds while Casey Benson scored a career-high 15 points to power the Oregon Ducks past Utah 77-59 on Thursday night.
The Ducks(14-3, 3-1 Pac 12) never trailed in notching their third straight conference win after dropping their league opener to Oregon State.
Brandon Taylor led Utah (12-5, 1-3) with 12 points as the Ducks neutralized the Utes’ interior offense. Sophomore center Jakob Poeltl made just one field goal and had seven points in Utah’s first home loss of the season.
The Ducks shot 55 percent for the game while the Utes connected on just 34 percent of their shots, though many came from close range.
The Utes made their first four shots of the second half to trim the Ducks lead to six points. Jordan Loveridge’s 3-pointer made it 50-44 with 17:20 left in the game.
From there, the Ducks held Utah scoreless for almost eight minutes. The Utes missed 13 straight field goals, as Oregon extended its lead into double digits and never led by less than 12 the rest of the way.
Oregon’s athletic defenders and quick pace rattled the Utes early. The Ducks led by as many as 15 points and held the Utes to 34 percent shooting in the first half. Oregon led 46-34 at the break.
TIP-INS
Oregon: The Ducks have won five straight games against the Utes, including a 67-64 victory in last year’s Pac-12 Tournament. … Oregon is 12-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points. … Chris Boucher, who ranked third nationally in blocked shots, swatted six Ute attempts.
Utah: The Utes have now scored fewer than 60 points in three straight games. … Utah had more offensive rebounds (17) than defensive boards, mainly due to missing so many shots around the basket. … The Utes, who usually hold a big advantage in the lane, were outscored 36-18 in the paint.
UP NEXT
Oregon plays at Colorado on Sunday.
Utah hosts Oregon State on Sunday.
