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ASU men's basketball falls prey to Boucher

The Oregon forward had 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.

Arizona State Sun Devils forward Obinna Oleka (5) looks to pass during a game against the Oregon Ducks at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona, on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. The Ducks took the win from the Sun Devils, 91-74.
Arizona State Sun Devils forward Obinna Oleka (5) looks to pass during a game against the Oregon Ducks at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona, on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. The Ducks took the win from the Sun Devils, 91-74.

University of Oregon senior forward Chris Boucher (pronounced "boo-shay") stands at 6-foot-10, 190 pounds. He's a tall and lanky target.

He started out hot in the first half, scoring six of his team's first 11 buckets en route to 13-0 run, putting the Sun Devils on their heels early.

The Canadian forward went quiet as the middle of the first half rolled around, but it didn't take him long to make his presence felt again.

He presented himself in a big way after ASU took the lead.

With 6:24 left in the first half, Boucher slammed home an emphatic dunk that woke up the Oregon faithful in attendance. The score read 23-22 in favor of ASU.

Boucher would make quick work of that deficit. After a three-pointer from sophomore guard Tra Holder on ASU's end, Boucher answered with a three of his own and followed it up with a tip-in on the next Oregon possession to give the Ducks the lead.

At the half, Boucher had recorded 13 points and six rebounds. Oregon had a 37-36 lead.

ASU head coach Bobby Hurley attested to the big man's abilities.

"Boucher is a lot tougher than he looks and (he) is extremely talented," he said.

Boucher opened the second half with two free-throws to extend his team's lead. He was impactful on several parts of the offensive game, whether it was at the net, behind the three-point line or at the charity stripe. He impacted ASU when he was on defense, grabbing boards and blocking shots.

At the end of the night, Boucher had registered 26 points (4-8 3-PT), 10 rebounds and seven blocks. Oregon won 91-74.

"He was driving it, he was dunking it, he was blocking shots," Hurley said. "He's a big time player."


Boucher is no stranger to big time performances nor putting up big time numbers.

Before attending Oregon, Chris Boucher played his freshman and sophomore years at New Mexico Junior College before transferring to Northwestern College in Wyoming for his junior year. At Northwestern College, he quickly made a name for himself, averaging 22.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game

With 18 double-doubles and three triple-doubles to his name, Boucher was an easy All-American Selection and was also named the 2014-2015 NJCAA Player of the Year.

Although his route has taken longer than most, Boucher is quickly finding out what it takes to play basketball at a high level inside one of the most competitive conferences in the nation, attempting to prepare himself for a future in basketball after his collegiate career at Oregon concludes.


Reach the reporter at Braxton.Fox@asu.edu or follow @braxton_fox_II on Twitter.

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