Sophomore forward CJ Elleby had game-high totals of 25 points and 14 rebounds as host Washington State gave first-year coach Kyle Smith a signature win early in Pacific-12 Conference play, upsetting No. 8 Oregon 72-61 on Thursday night in Pullman, Wash.
Isaac Bonton added 12 points and six assists and Jeff Pollard scored 11 points and made some key defensive plays as the Cougars (11-7, 2-3 Pac-12) snapped a streak of 19 consecutive losses against teams ranked in the top 10 dating to 2007.
Freshman forward DJ Rodman, the son of former NBA star and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, scored a career-high eight points and grabbed five rebounds for the short-handed Cougars, who had four players sitting out with injuries.
Senior Payton Pritchard led the Ducks (14-4, 3-2) with 22 points and also had five rebounds and five assists. But Pritchard also committed six turnovers. Fellow guard Chris Duarte scored 15.
WSU went on an 11-0 run early in the second half to take a 47-39 lead. Elleby made a 3-pointer to increase the margin to 50-41.
The Ducks responded with a 9-0 run to tie the score at 50-all, but Rodman countered with a 3-pointer with 9:45 left to give the Cougars the lead for good.
WSU, which entered the game last in the conference in 3-point shooting at 29.6 percent, made 11 of 21 attempts, with Elleby going 4-for-7.
After Oregon missed a 3-point try that would have tied the score at 58, Rodman made two free throws with 3:48 left. The Ducks had another chance to tie, but Pritchard had a jump shot blocked by Aljaz Kunc at the two-minute mark.
Elleby rebounded his own miss and scored to push the lead back to five at 63-58 and Pollard took a charge the next time down the court. Pollard took a pass from Bonton, made a layup and converted the three-point play to make it 66-58 with 1:06 left to help seal the victory.
Oregon took a 37-34 halftime lead, as Duarte and Pritchard each scored 10 points.
--Field Level Media
