The No. 12 Oregon men’s basketball team got off to a 2-0 start to the season by winning two very different games – in terms of style and tempo – at the World Vision Invitational at McArthur Court Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday afternoon the Ducks played a fast-paced transition offense game against the full-court press of the Pepperdine Waves, (0-2, 0-0 West Coast Conference) leading by as many as 45 points on their way to a comfortable 100-70 win.
Seniors Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor, along with sophomore guard Tajuan Porter, shared the offensive load for the Ducks (2-0, 0-0 Pacific-10 Conference) by chipping in 17 points each. Freshman guard LeKendric Longmire added 12 points in his 18 minutes off the bench and senior forward Maarty Leunen pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Oregon coach Ernie Kent likened the balanced attack and the tempo of his team’s offense in the game to that of the No. 2-ranked football team’s spread-option offense.
“With this offense, the way it’s set up, if you want to equate it to football it’s a spread offense in basketball too,” he said. “We’ve got skill guys all over the floor… We’re a really, really good offensive team.”
Sunday’s game, against the Pacific Tigers, (1-1, 0-0 Big West Conference) had a much slower pace and featured more half-court play and less of the transition offense. The Ducks were threatened early but tightened up defensively in the second half to cruise to a 80-64 victory.
“I think this was a great team to play this time of the year, they’re very similar to a Washington State,” said Hairston. “They do a great job of keeping the numbers down but I think it was a great test for us.”
Pacific went up 12-6 in the first five minutes, but the Ducks would take control, scoring the next eight points to take their first lead, 14-12, with 11:30 left in the half. Pacific tied the score at 15 and 20, but the Ducks would stretch their lead to seven by halftime at 34-27.
Pacific guard Steffan Johnson, the Tigers’ leading scorer in the game with 22 points, hit a left-corner three to tighten it to a four point game on the first Pacific possession of the second half, but the Ducks would go on a 16-5 run from there to push the lead to 15 points at 50-35 with 14:29 remaining.The Ducks would lead by as many as 18 in the game before settling for the 16-point final margin.
“We had to play in the half court a little more than we usually want to,” said Leunen. “So it helps us run our sets and get used to a game like that.”
The bench combined for just one point in the game, and Leunen said the starters had hoped to stretch the lead to get the bench some more playing time.
“Like Malik said, it’s kind of our fault,” he said. “We’ve got to get a little lead to make it comfortable for those guys if they come in and make it comfortable for the coach to have trust in them to come in and make big plays.”
Pacific was certainly the stiffest test Oregon has faced so far this season – having won the Big West Conference and made NCAA tournament appearances in three of the last four years – and Kent said this will be a great win for his team, in terms of RPI, down the road.
“They’re going to make a good run in their conference, and I think this is going to be a good win for us with where that team is going to finish up down the road,” he said. “This was a good basketball game for us to play.”
Porter led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including five-of-eight from beyond the arc. Leunen again led the team in rebounding with 10 boards and added 17 points. Hairston was second on the team in scoring with 20 points.
The World Vision Invitational wraps up tomorrow night when the Ducks take on Western Michigan at 7:30 p.m., at Mac Court.
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