Eugene, OR – The No. 12-ranked Oregon Ducks were in complete control of the game against the visiting UCLA Bruins as they cruised to 96-75 victory Sunday afternoon at Mathew Knight Arena. Oregon’s full court pressure forced the Bruins into 23 turnovers and converted those mistakes into 34 points. The win gave Coach Dana Altman his 23rd consecutive winning season, matching five other active Hall of Fame coaches to reach this achievement.
Oregon’s Chris Duarte and Payton Pritchard continued their elite play on the week as the duo combined to score 19 of the team’s 21 points to start the game as Oregon jumped out to a 21-9 advantage. Duarte, who on Thursday became the first player to record 30 points, 11 rebounds and eight steals in a Division 1 game in 21 years, backed up his amazing performance. He filled up the stat sheet by scoring a game high 24 points (8-of-14 FG). In addition, he added six rebounds, five assists, six steals and two blocks with most of these numbers coming in the first half. Oregon went into the locker room with a 48-26 lead. The electrifying shooting guard has uncanny time to get in the passing lanes as he has recorded 14 steals in the past two games.
Pritchard shot 5-for-10 from the field including three 3-pointers to total 19 points in the contest. Pritchard scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half. The potential 2020 NBA draft pick, also, dished out six assists and grabbed five rebounds. Oregon shot 57 percent from the field and 48 percent (11-for-23) from the 3-point line.
Will Richardson made solid contributions by helping the Ducks hold onto their double-digit lead. The sophomore’s 3-pointer at the 5:21 mark put Oregon up by 23 points in the first half. The 6-5 combo guard had a bounce back game after previously shooting just 2-for-21 and tallying nine points in his previous four games. He chipped in 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Bruins were outmatched in the first half, but managed to keep pace with the Ducks in the second due to the play of redshirt sophomore Jalen Hill. The 6-10, 245- pounder, scored 16 points (5-for-7 FG) and pulled down eight rebounds. For the third game in a row, Oregon has had trouble containing the primary post player from the opposing team.
Jake Kyman, a freshman, came off the bench to score 20 points for the Bruins. He shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc in 27 minutes of action as he was one of the bright spots for the visiting team. UCLA’s bench outscored the Ducks 33-20. Chris Smith, a junior, has averaged 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds in Pac-12 play this season. He was contained in today’s game, scoring only seven points on 2-of-7 shooting.
Oregon (17-4, 6-2) will next go on the road to play the University of California (9-10, 3-3). UCLA (10-10, 3-4) will next host Colorado (16-4, 5-2).
This article was written by Chad Mart, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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