After five straight conference losses, the Oregon men’s basketball team responded with its first hot shooting night since the Jan. 2 win over the Washington Huskies. Oregon got double-digit scoring from senior Tajuan Porter and sophomores Jeremy Jacob and Matthew Humphrey, while freshmen Jamil Wilson, E.J. Singler and sophomore Michael Dunigan each chipped in eight.
“Getting the win was rough,” Humphrey said. “We had a tough week of practice. Everything was geared toward getting ready for UCLA and guys came to work every single day.”
That work certainly paid off for Humphrey, who has been up and down on the Oregon depth chart this season after missing several games because of a knee injury. Humphrey had played in only one conference game before last night when he saw 11 minutes of action last week at California.
Humphrey had eight of his final 15 points in overtime, which included back-to-back three-pointers and a clutch pair of free throws. He finished the night 3-of-5 from downtown to go along with two boards, one assist and one steal in his 21 minutes of action.
“Matt Humphrey had a great game coming off the bench,” Porter said. “He stayed focused and played great … He got his chance and he stepped up big.”
Porter also had a strong shooting night from beyond the arc, connecting on two key three-pointers late in the first half to help the Ducks close the gap going into intermission. He too finished with 15 points, shooting 4-of-8 from deep.
“T.P., unfortunately, he gets to take all the heat just like Aaron Brooks did,” head coach Ernie Kent said. “And he’s the reason we got back into the game.”
Porter finished with a team-high 42 minutes, while fellow point guard Malcolm Armstead was close behind with 39. Armstead did a little bit of everything for the Ducks, dishing out 12 assists to go along with six rebounds, five points and four steals.
“It’s all about being smart,” Porter said. “We’re in good condition, all we had to do was be smart and make smart basketball plays down the stretch.”
While Humphrey accounted for eight of Oregon’s 16 overtime points, Singler provided the other eight in dramatic fashion. After watching the majority of the game from the bench and being held scoreless through regulation, Singler knocked in two buckets from close range and sank four free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach for the Bruins in the final seconds.
The Ducks concluded the game shooting 42.9 percent from the floor (24-of-56) and nearly matched that with a 42.1 percent (8-of-19) effort from behind the three-point line. UCLA, on the other hand, finished the night at 39.1 and 30.3 percent, respectively.
Humphrey and Porter were both justifiably happy after the game, having overcome the string of five poor losses and beating the Bruins for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
“The outcome was very much well-deserved,” Humphrey said.
“It feels pretty good,” Porter said. “But we can’t be satisfied with one, so we’ve got to come out Saturday with the same intensity we played with. With the same sense of urgency and try to get another one.”
Notes
• Oregon senior Joevan Catron was again sidelined from action due to the same reoccurring back injury, while junior LeKendric Longmire did not dress down and was not seen on the bench at any point in the night due to ongoing academic issues.
• The Ducks donned white and pink uniforms with all-pink shoes in support of the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign in a joint effort with the American Cancer Society.
• Honorary captains for the game were UO great Larry Holliday, who played in Oregon’s upset of the legendary UCLA team under John Wooden, and UCLA legend Bill Walton.
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