Kwame Evans Jr. made five of the six free throws he was awarded with 2.5 seconds to play, leading Oregon to an 85-79 win over Washington in the regular-season finale for both longtime rivals in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday night.
Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle was assessed two technical fouls after the Ducks, leading by a point, knocked the ball out of Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach’s hands for a steal. Evans corralled the loose ball before it went out of bounds and was fouled.
Evans made three of four technical foul free throws, then two for being fouled, sealing the game for the Ducks (12-19, 5-15 Big Ten). Evans had also given Oregon an 80-79 lead with a 3-pointer and free throw after being fouled with 11 seconds to play.
Evans scored nine of his team-leading 20 points in those final 11 seconds of the game. Takai Simpkins added 18 points and Nate Bittle, in his final game at home in an Oregon uniform after five seasons in the program, had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Oregon led by as many as 21 points in the first half and was in control for the early part of the second half before Washington (15-16, 7-13) surged ahead 75-74 with 2:11 to play.
Momentum was with the Huskies after a pair of Steinbach free throws with 24 seconds left gave them a 79-76 lead. Steinbach, Washington’s standout freshman, overcame first-half foul trouble to score 22 of his 26 points in the second half, and had 12 of his 13 rebounds in the second 20 minutes.
Oregon’s hot start with seven consecutive made 3-pointers had the Ducks ahead 31-10 with nine minutes left in the first half. The Huskies got it down to 44-30 at halftime.
The Ducks led by 18 with 10 minutes left in the game, but the Huskies turned up the effort on defense and started hitting shots with consistency, eventually taking the lead.
Both teams head to the Big Ten Tournament next week, with Oregon playing Tuesday as a bottom-four seed.
