The start of the second half was nearly all Oregon as
the offense and especially the defense really got
going. To start the half, the Ducks stopped Pacific
on eight of nine possessions while in their matchup
zone.
"We did very well in the match-up zone tonight and
that's where many of our stops came from," Oregon
Coach Ernie Kent told OSN.
Oregon's big run in the final period featured hoops by
many different Duck ballplayers. James Davis opened
the scoring with a long-range bomb off of a pass with
Luke Ridnour. Brian Helquist then scored a tip-in on
Oregon's next possession, and Ian Crosswhite nailed a
three-pointer on the following possession to open up a
47-33 lead.
Luke Ridnour and Jay Anderson also scored key baskets
later in the run, but the highlight of the run was
provided by guard Andre Joseph. Joseph spotted up in
the coffin corner on the right side and drilled a
three-pointer while being fouled. He coolly stepped
to the line and nailed his free throw for a four-point
play and a 70-43 Oregon lead.
The first half was a little different story, as the
scrappy Pacific Tigers managed to stay within six
points at halftime. Pacific was very active on the
boards and in their offense, which allowed them to
stick with the Ducks.
Pacific's defense just wasn't good enough to allow
them to stay close in the second half. The Tigers
struggled with Oregon's screens and gave up a lot of
open shots to the Ducks. Oregon also rebounded well
in the second half, limiting the amount of
opportunities the Tigers got on the offensive end.
The Tigers were led by junior guard, Myree Bowden who
scored 20 points on 8-13 shooting. Demetrius Jackson
and Miah Davis scored 14 and 12 points respectively.
Luke Ridnour once again led the Ducks in the scoring
column, accounting for 24 of Oregon's points and
notching up seven assists. Andre Joseph and James
Davis both added 14 points and Ian Crosswhite scored a
career high 12.
Joseph was one Duck who had a particularly solid
ballgame. Although he was only 5-11 from the floor,
he nailed two three pointers and showed the ability to
get to the rim very quickly. He also scored his 14
points in only 20 minutes of play.
Ian Crosswhite also showed some solid inside moves
while scoring his 12 points. A number of times he
drove inside and went up in traffic, converting on
lay-ups and short pops.
Even though he only scored eight points and struggled
from the floor going 2-13, Oregon forward Luke Jackson
made his presence known, grabbing 12 rebounds and
adding five steals.
In the last few minutes of the game, the Ducks put
different units on the floor, something Coach Kent was
very happy about. "We could have put more points on
the board, but this wasn't about putting points on the
board, it was about getting a lot of people in," he
told OSN.
One of the only negatives on the night was Oregon
losing the rebounding battle again. Pacific out
rebounded the Ducks 36-34. Pacific gained a large
advantage in the first half on the offensive glass, a
problem that Oregon seemed to fix in the second half.
Oregon gets one more chance to work on their
rebounding in an actual game before the rematch with
Kansas, and that's Wednesday against the University of
Portland Pilots. Last season the Pilots shocked the
Ducks at the Chiles Center in Portland, upsetting the
Ducks 79-78. The Ducks will have their chance for
revenge, though, as the Pilots come into hostile
territory on Wednesday. Portland will be looking to
stay undefeated when the two teams tip off at 7:00 in
McArthur Court.