Will Richardson records triple-double, leads Ducks to win over Nevada
Coming into the weekend, it has been nearly two decades since an Oregon men’s basketball player had recorded a triple-double.
On Saturday, Will Richardson broke that trend and delivered one of the best games of his career to lead the Ducks to an impressive non-conference win over the University of Nevada, Reno.
The Ducks topped the Wolf Pack, 78-65, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene to improve to 5-5 on the season.
Richardson finished the evening with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists on 7-of-12 shooting. The senior guard shot 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
“It’s just a blessing,” Richardson said. “I’ve never played on a team that cared so much about somebody else. I needed one rebound and the whole team is trying to, ‘Tip the ball to Will, tip the ball to Will.’
“It just feels good. I’m trying to be a leader and my team is rocking with me until the end. So it’s exciting.”
Richardson is the first Duck since Luke Jackson in 2022 to tally a triple-double and just the fourth in program history.
“I’m really happy for him,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “His five-game stretch here. … his leadership is showing. He’s getting the guys to play as a team. He’s done as well leadership-wise as anybody we’ve had here.”
Quincy Guerrier added 26 points and nine rebounds and shot 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Guerrier tallied 14 points in the first half alone and carried the Ducks early against a Nevada program that is now 8-3 on the season.
N’Faly Dante chipped in 11 points and three blocks. Brennan Rigsby contributed another stellar off-ball performance. In his third game of the season, the sophomore guard played 35 minutes. Although he scored just seven points, Rigsby finished with a team-high +/- of 20.
Ken Blackshear led Nevada with 20 points and former Oregon State guard Jarod Lucas added 16 points.
After a difficult stretch early in the season during which injuries badly hindered the Ducks, Dana Altman’s squad is getting healthier by the week and beginning to take shape
On Saturday, the Ducks’ defensive intensity proved to be a major difference-maker during the first half and was much improved from where it was earlier in the year.
Oregon held Nevada to just 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting (30.3%) in the first half and 3-of-13 from 3-point range.
The Ducks then opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 43-29 lead, with a 3-pointer from Richardson serving as the exclamation point during the run.
Nevada never got within nine points after that, and Oregon poured it on throughout the second half. Richardson scored 13 points over the final 20 minutes and shot 3-of-4 from three during the second half.
Oregon will look to carry over its momentum into next week when it hosts UC Riverside in Eugene on Wednesday, Dec. 14. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off and will air on Pac-12 Networks.
