The Oregon men’s basketball team began its 2010-11 campaign with a deceptive 27-point win over NAIA opponent Northwest Christian University on Friday night at McArthur Court.
The results of the exhibition matchup, which do not count toward either program’s regular season record, featured two teams that matched up entirely too closely for what should have been a glorified practice for the Pacific-10 Conference Oregon Ducks.
Instead, the Beacons came out ready to play and was beating the new-look Oregon team as they trailed just 38-34 going into halftime. Some sloppy play, including seven turnovers and a 1-for-10 shooting performance from behind the three-point line, left the 6,881 Oregon fans scratching their heads at intermission.
“I think it gave us a starting point,” first-year Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “I think it gave us a lot of things to work on. It also showed we need some more depth. We need to get J.J. and Jay-R back and get them into the rotation.”
With Jeremy Jacob and Jay-R Strowbridge out of the lineup with injuries, the Ducks were forced to use a short bench and played all 10 active players on the roster. The Ducks’ starting lineup was a bit of a mystery heading into the game. Ultimately, Altman went with the limited experience available and started juniors Teondre Williams, Garrett Sim, Malcolm Armstead, sophomore E.J. Singler and senior Joevan Catron.
Sim quickly scored the first five points of the game and Williams added his first dunk of the season to get Oregon out to an early 7-0 lead. Kellen Spicer and Quentin Guidry sparked the Beacons with seven straight points of their own to tie it back up at 7-7.
Oregon eventually built up a 10-point lead with 3:05 remaining in the first half, but the Beacons responded with a 12-6 run to close out the opening 20 minutes.
“There were some positive things,” Altman said. “But obviously we’ve got a ways to go. I really liked the fact that in the second half defensively we really played much better.”
The Ducks second half defense improved drastically as the Beacons’s shooting percentage went from 51.7 percent in the first half to 26.7 percent (8 for 30) in the second. Oregon used a 12-4 run to go up 50-36 to open the second half and were never seriously threatened after that point.
Another 12-0 run midway through the second half extended Oregon’s lead to 69-43 and the game was all but over with more the six minutes remaining on the clock. Altman used some of that time to get his two newest additions — walk-ons Matt Losli and Nicholas Lucenti — some playing time.
Catron, Oregon’s lone senior, was happy to be back in action after being sidelined for most of last season with a nagging back injury.
“I felt good,” Catron said. “I was excited to play again, you know, I didn’t want to be too over the top but it felt good to play basketball again in front of a crowd. There’s nothing like it.”
Catron and Singler paced the Ducks offensively with 16 points each. Catron also grabbed six rebounds and three steals in his 23 minutes of action, while Singler pulled down a team-high seven boards over the course of his 25-minute season debut.
Armstead and Sim also finished the game in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively, while Williams chipped in seven points and five rebounds.
Guidry led the Beacons with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, while Spicer added 10 and Cameron Marshall put in eight points in the losing effort. Both teams turned the ball over more than 20 times, while the Ducks outrebounded the Beacons 49-26 on the night.
The Duck veterans realize how much better Oregon must get in order to compete in the Pac-10, which has been easier said than done during the passed two seasons.
“It was good to get the first-game jitters out, play in front of a crowd,” Catron said. “But, as you can see, we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
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