Oregon basketball improved to 2-0 Monday night, defeating Portland State 80-69 in a game that the Ducks led wire-to-wire, but still never managed to completely put away. The Ducks started off hot with nearly 60 percent shooting in the first half including  70 percent from beyond the arc. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205735782@@
It was of stark contrast to the Ducks sluggish start in their season opening win against Northern Arizona on Saturday.
“We came out with a lot of energy,” said senior big man Tony Woods.
That energy led to the Ducks playing an efficient offense and getting points out of their system rather than trying to force the play as they have done at times in the exhibition season and in Saturday’s opener. The Ducks finished with nine assists in the first half and went into the break leading 51-33.
But the Ducks second half play left a lot to be desired. Oregon shot under 40 percent in the second twenty minutes, and let up defensively as well allowing Portland State to keep within striking distance.
“One or two guys let down a little bit,” Altman said.” Not taking a pass away, allow an easy pass to the post.”
Some of the Ducks’ struggles are perhaps to be expected. Altman’s squad features only four players who saw significant minutes a season ago, and with so many new players some growing pains are only natural.
“I think it’s just getting to know each other a little bit better,” said senior E.J. Singler, the only senior on the Ducks who has spent his entire career in Eugene. “Hitting the open guy, getting good shots and running through the offense.” @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=235&SPSID=4295@@
With so many new faces, Altman has continued to experiment with different lineups, something Duck fans can expect to see throughout the remainder of nonconference play.
“We’ll keep messing around with it until we find a group that sticks out,” Altman said.  “And they’re gonna have to stick out in practice too.”
Turning Point. With the Ducks slumping and Portland State within 10 for the first time in nearly 20 minutes Jonathan Loyd found a wide-open Singler for three points. Singler had been scoreless from the field to that point but his first bucket gave the Ducks a 12 point lead and forced Portland State into a timeout.
On the Horizon. The Ducks play their third straight home game on Friday night but welcome a much tougher foe to Kilkenny Court with Vanderbilt coming to town. While it figures to be a much bigger challenge than the Ducks have faced to this point, Vanderbilt too has a lot of inexperienced players. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=235&SPSID=4294@@
“It’s gonna be two teams that are playing a lot of new guys, so if you’re sitting in the front row, be careful,” Altman said.
But with any major conference opponent, the Ducks won’t be able to do the kind of drop-off from the first half to the second half that they had against Portland State. Oregon won Monday despite 17 turnovers leading to 15 free points for the Vikings.
“Some of those mental mistakes we did today we can’t do Friday,” Singler said.