No. 22 Illinois (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten) traveled to Eugene and put an absolute thrashing on No. 9 Oregon (12-2, 1-2 Big Ten), taking down the home team 109-77 – good for the widest margin of victory by a visiting team against a top-10 opponent ever.

Scorching-hot shooting (57.5 percent from the field) led the Illini to their massive triple-digit night as the Ducks’ usually solid defense (68.7 points allowed per game) offered little resistance against an endless rain of threes and layups.

On defense, Illinois held the Ducks to 30-for-69 shooting from the field (43.5 percent), but something less than the usual effort and focus was required (and may have been applied) on an evening when the offense was firing on all cylinders.

Here are a few key digits that offer further insight into how the Illini were able to pull off the historic win:

The Illini needed this. A 15-for-33 showing from three-point range (45.5 percent) against Chicago State was encouraging, but the Cougars are a winless mid-major. Shooting 16-for-29 from three (55.2 percent) on the road against a top-10 team? That’s how a team gets its confidence back. Also worth noting: After a 5-for-25 stretch from beyond the arc, forward Ben Humrichous went 4-for-7 against the Ducks en route to a season-high 18 points. And no, there’s no expectation that either Humrichous or Illinois as a whole can maintain a three-point shooting mark above 50 percent. But if the Illini can hover closer to 40 percent than 30 percent, they will be well-positioned to make a competitive run for the Big Ten title.

Although the shooting has been inconsistent on a game-to-game basis, Illinois has been rock-solid on the boards all year – and that didn’t change Thursday. The Illini outrebounded the Ducks 43-31, now having won the battle of the boards in every game this season but the home loss to No. 1 Tennessee. Against Oregon, Illinois got a big night on the glass from Tre White – who posted the quietest 20 points and 11 rebounds you’ll ever encounter – while Tomislav Ivisic added eight and Kasparas Jakucionis six. The Illini need to continue their rebounding domination against the bigger, more athletic competition of the Big Ten. If the Ducks game was any indication, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Through 12 games, Illini coach Brad Underwood and his staff had been keeping the rotation pretty tight, with only Will Riley, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Morez Johnson Jr. getting regular, significant minutes off the bench. But that changed on Thursday, and after the performance of Jake Davis, the change could become permanent. Davis – uniform No. 15 – is a Mercer transfer who, after entering the game with 14 points on the season, nearly doubled it with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field against Oregon. None of that was garbage-time production, by the way. All of Davis’ scoring came in the first half, when the margin was still within single digits and the outcome was still anyone’s guess.

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A popular campground on Oregon’s south coast was evacuated due to flooding Friday morning while two other popular parks were inaccessible after a landslide undercut a highway near Charleston and Coos Bay.

Sunset Bay State Park’s campground was impacted when Big Creek came over its banks between Thursday and Friday night, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department officials said.

“The campground will likely remain closed through the weekend due to high water and tide conditions,” OPRD spokeswoman Stefanie Knowlton said. She added that the Sunset Bay Day-Use Area remains open at this time “but could close if flooding continues.” The restroom is closed, but there are portable toilets available. 

Shore Acres and Cap Arago also closed by landslide

Just up the road from Sunset Bay, a “significant landslide has occurred” on Cape Arago Highway.

“The slide has caused substantial undermining of the roadway, leading to its closure,” OPRD said. “As a result, both Shore Acres State Park and Cape Arago State Park are currently inaccessible to vehicular traffic.”  

The trio of parks — Sunset Bay, Shore Acres and Cape Arago — are three of the more popular destinations on the south coast. It’s unclear how long the area would be inaccessible.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.

Oregon State finally played a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game that didn’t end in overtime.

But it took some last second heroics to make it happen Thursday night, as Kennedie Shuler’s three-point play with two seconds remaining gave the Beavers a 59-56 win over Loyola Marymount at Gill Coliseum.

It’s the first time in four games the Beavers (7-8, 3-1 WCC) haven’t played overtime in a conference play. With the game tied at 56-56, Shuler took an inbounds pass near the top of the key, drove to the basket and floated a shot off the backboard as she was fouled.

Oregon State won its third consecutive game as Kelsey Rees scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the way. Sela Heide and Catarina Ferreira scored 10 each. Heide scored all her points during the third quarter.

Four players accounted for all of Loyola’s 56 points. Brandi Williams hit four three-pointers and scored 17 points to lead the Lions (6-6, 0-4).

Loyola controlled the first half in taking a 33-26 halftime lead. The Lions spotted Oregon State an early lead, then took over with a 9-2 run midway through the first quarter. LMU led 17-14 after one, the difference a three-pointer by Williams on the final possession.

After Ally Schimel hit a three to tie the game at 17-17, LMU scored 10 consecutive points in less than two minutes. OSU got as close as 29-26 on a three-point play by Rees, but the Lions scored the final four points of the quarter to take a seven-point halftime lead.

Oregon State’s zone defense made a difference in the third quarter, as the Beavers outscored the Lions 20-10 to take a three-point lead. Loyola missed nine consecutive shots and went scoreless for nearly seven minutes as OSU ran off 10 consecutive points to take the lead.

OSU couldn’t shake Loyola during the fourth quarter. Shuler gave the Beavers a five-point lead with eight minutes left, but the Lions scored the next seven points to overtake the Beavers. Ferreira’s pair of free throws with 1:44 left put OSU in front by three points, but the Lions tied it less than a minute later, on a three-pointer by Naudia Evans.

Oregon State earned a chance to win it after forcing Loyola into a tough shot on its final possession. The Beavers called timeout with 4.4 seconds and set up Shuler for the game winner.

Oregon State’s next game is noon Saturday at Washington State.

–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com or @nickdaschel.

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