The Oregon men’s basketball team completed its exhibition schedule with a 116-71 victory over the Southern Oregon University Raiders on Sunday, in front of 8,259 at McArthur Court.
Unlike the Ducks’ first exhibition against Northwest Christian University, when the Ducks couldn’t separate themselves from the Beacons until midway through the second half, Oregon jumped out in front of the Raiders early and coasted to a comfortable win.
“I think we played better defense,” junior guard Tajuan Porter said. “This team was a lot faster in transition, but we got them to miss and were able to get the ball up the court and score.”
Oregon went up 23-3 in the first six minutes, stretched that lead to as many as 26, and finished the first half up by 24 at 57-33. Freshman center Michael Dunigan led all scorers in the first half with 11 points and led all rebounders with eight. He would go on to record a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and added five blocked shots, two assists and a steal.
“Mike is getting better day by day,” Porter said. “I’ve seen him play before, and now he’s becoming the player I expected him to be.”
Oregon heated up from beyond the arc in the second half, dropping 6-of-9 three-pointers for a nearly 67 percent success rate on their way to the 45-point win.
The game featured a heavy dose of the Ducks’ young players, with Dunigan, freshman guard Matthew Humphrey, freshman guard Garrett Sim and freshman forward Josh Crittle being the only players to log 20 minutes or more.
Sim scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Crittle and Humphrey each chipped in 11 points.
“I’m glad I was able to play so many guys and give them the opportunity to continue, as I say, to just get the jitters out,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “I thought our freshmen played much better this week.”
“They played good,” Porter said of the freshmen. “Everybody is showing progress and gaining a lot of confidence.”
Freshman forward Drew Wiley scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 17 minutes off the bench and added six rebounds.
“Drew Wiley just shot the ball really well and played really good in the game,” Kent said. “He made significant strides here with me.”
The game was physical all the way down the stretch, with players diving for loose balls and challenging the ball defensively.
“That’s just how we play,” Wiley said. “We play hard. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. Everybody is supposed to do the little things and diving on the ball, taking charges – that’s all the little stuff that makes our team good.”
Senior forward Frantz Dorsainvil and freshman guard Teondre Williams were the only players who didn’t see the court. Both have deep thigh bruises, Kent said. He expects both to be ready and available for Friday’s regular-season opener.
Oregon begins its regular season Friday at 8 p.m. at McArthur Court against Northern Colorado.
“We’ve had two games now to get ready,” Porter said. “Now it’s getting serious. We’re preparing. We’ve got to clean up some more stuff and be ready to go.”
“I’m probably no different than any other coach in the country that has a young team. You wish you had more days,” Kent said. “But we’ve got to play games and we’ve got to go.”
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