Ducks Topple Southern Oregon

The Oregon Ducks dominated the Southern Oregon Raiders at McArthur Court in Eugene this afternoon 116-71. The Ducks were impressive from the start in winning their second consecutive exhibition game prior to the season and home opener Friday night vs. Northern Colorado at 8 PM in the PIT.

Oregon got off to a 8-1 start and led 16-3 after returning starter, junior forward Joevan Catron, hit a three-pointer from the top of the circle. Catron scored six of the first 16 Duck points in leading Oregon to the quick start. Fellow returning starter TaJuan Porter was also sharp early and ran the club nicely scoring two early baskets and setting up his teammates for easy scores.

The Ducks led the Raiders 57-33 at halftime behind the stellar play of highly touted freshman center Michael Dunigan who had 11 points and 8 rebounds at the half. Dunigan was a force in the middle on both ends of the floor and was trouble for the Raiders who finished the 2007-08 season with a 10-20 record while going only 6-14 in Cascade Collegiate Conference league play.

Several of Oregon’s freshmen were impressive during the game. Drew Wiley hit his first shot of the afternoon, a three-pointer, and later gave the Ducks a 52-26 lead with a thundering follow jam off a missed layup attempt by freshman guard Matthew Humphrey. Wiley finished with 13 points for the game to go along with 6 rebounds.

True freshmen Garrett Sim, Josh Crittle, and Humphrey all made solid contributions. Crittle’s baseline jumper put Oregon over 100 points with over 4 minutes remaining. Sim finished the game with 15 points on 6-9 from the floor.

Head Coach Ernie Kent was pleased with his teams effort and commented that the “freshmen were much better this week. Garrett played well. Drew played really well. Wiley made significant strides and is a terrific shooter.”

The Ducks were a blistering 57% from the field, shooting 45-79 for the game. The Ducks were also good on the glass, out rebounding the Raiders 49-30.

The Raiders were led by junior guard Jarrad Childs who had 15 points and sophomore guard Trevor McCay who chipped in 12. Dunigan finished the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead Oregon in both categories.

Kent expects Oregon to be competitive in the Pac-10 this season despite acknowledging the youth of the team. As long as we “play hard, defend, and share the ball,” Oregon’s head coach believes the Ducks have a chance to be very good.