One game after Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey lit up the stat sheet, the Ducks proved that they are more than a two-man show.
Wednesday showcased the talents of Dwayne Benjamin and Chris Boucher as No. 21 Oregon defeated Arkansas State 91-68. With the win, the Ducks improved to 5-0 in the season and finished the Global Sports Challenge with a perfect 4-0 record.
“Since the beginning, that’s what we always said we’d lean on — on offense and defense versatility,” Benjamin said when asked about Oregon’s depth. “A lot of people can do a lot of different things on any night and that’s what we really depend on.”
While Benjamin lit up the stat sheet on the offensive side of the ball, Boucher held things down on the defensive end. Boucher finished the game with nine blocks, the most in a single game in Oregon school history. The Ducks also set another program record when the team compiled 13 blocks, the most for the team in a single game.
“No I didn’t even know about it — it just happened,” Boucher said about breaking the school record. “I just came out the second half firing and trying to do defensive plays.”
With Oregon’s offense struggling mightily in the first half, Benjamin was the Ducks’ first substitute off the bench and immediately had an impact. The Ducks started 1-for-5 from the field and 0-for-4 from the free throw line before Benjamin checked in with 16:21 to play in the half and trailing 4-2.
Benjamin went on to score nine of the Ducks’ next 11 points and help the stagnant offense.
“His first half, he was by far our most productive player,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “He definitely got us going offensively — he did hit one three but most of his points came when he took the ball to the basket.”
In all, Benjamin finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field. He also added six rebounds and two blocks.
Once Benjamin did all the heavy lifting in the first half to help give the Ducks a 38-25, Boucher took over to start the second half.
Boucher scored nine of Oregon’s first 11 points in the half. He added four books and three rebounds to go along with his points in the first five minutes of the half to break open the game.
“He (Boucher) really helps us with defense,” Benjamin said. “I feel confident in him helping me on defense and offense.”
Boucher kept adding to his total when he finished the game with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting while adding nine rebounds and nine blocks.
“I thought his second half was really good — he was really active, both offensively and defensively,” Altman said. “He is fearless — his length is unique, he can hit shots from a long ways away and he’s not afraid to go after them.”
Dorsey had a flurry to finish the first half for the Ducks after Arkansas State cut the Oregon lead to 29-23 with 3:32 to play. After a Brooks layup, Dorsey finished the half by scoring Oregon’s final seven points. He finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds while Brooks added a career-high six assists.
As a team, the Ducks shot 29-for-62 (47 percent) from the field, 6-for-22 (27 percent) from beyond the arc and 27-for-40 (68 percent) from the free throw line.
Likewise, Arkansas State was limited to 23-for-71 (32 percent) from the field, 6-for-13 (46 percent) from three-point territory and 16-of-19 (84 percent) from the charity stripe.
Oregon will have four days between games to enjoy Thanksgiving before it plays host to Fresno State on Monday, Nov 30 at 5 p.m.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka