Eugene, OR – The Oregon Ducks shot an arena record 70 percent from the field as they rolled to a 106-75 win over what will be a good Boise State team at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday night. Grad transfer Anthony Mathis was red-hot, leading Oregon with 30 points. Mathis connected on 9-of-11 three-pointers, also an arena record. The Ducks shot 13-of-19 (68.4%) on their three-point attempts. Derrick Alston led the Broncos with 28 points.
Oregon was up 22-17 when they connected on three straight three-pointers, two by Mathis and one by Chris Duarte, over a 42-second time span to take a 14 point lead and didn’t look back, They led 48-30 at the half and expanded the lead from that point. Point guard Payton Pritchard pushed the action and had another very effective game. He finished with 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds while making 2-of-3 3s. Grad transfer Shakur Juiston scored 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting while adding a game-high nine assists.
The Ducks shared the ball very well with 27 assists on 42 made baskets. Besides Juiston and Pritchard, Duarte saw the court very well and added seven assists. In Oregon’s first game against Fresno State their freshman combined to play 33 minutes and did not score. It was a different story tonight. Chandler Lawson was effective with eight points and nine rebounds, playing 24 minutes. Lawson help fill the absence of starting center Francos Okoro who did not play after being hit by a car Okoros X-rays were negative and he may play on Tuesday evening against Memphis.
Addison Patterson, the 6-7 Canadian freshman, was able to penetrate and score at the basket. He added a transition dunk and finished the night a perfect 7-of-7 from the field in scoring 17 points. The other freshman, 6-8 C.J. Walker, started the game in place of Okoro but was limited by foul trouble and ended the night with just two points and two rebounds in 11 minutes.
Oregon returns to action Tuesday evening against Memphis in the Phil Knight Invitational at the Moda Center in Portland. Oregon State, coming off a solid win against Iowa State Saturday, will face Oklahoma in the second game of the event.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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