Sixteen minutes had passed, and the Ducks (6-3) were off to a lethargic and passive start. The methodical play of the San Diego Toreros (8-3) was eating away at the clock, allowing few moments for the Ducks to find a pulse.
But with four minutes before halftime, Oregon redshirt senior Ehab Amin had two steals on consecutive possessions to provide the Ducks with their first moments of energy.
From there, the Ducks fought hard for rebounds, contested shots and came up with 11 steals to the Torero’s one. The energized persistence of the second half was a stark contrast to the game’s timid beginning, and the Ducks finished up with a 65-55 victory, improving to 6-3.
“It really started Ehab,” said freshman center Bol Bol. Prior to the change in pace, Bol said Amin yelled at his team in the huddle to throw their arms up and play more defense. 
Amin said he didn’t want to see his team fall into another situation like the Houston game, where they were down by a 24-point margin and failed a late comeback.
“At home we can’t let ourselves get down by 10 or 20 points and then start playing hard,” said Amin, who ended the game with four steals. “We showed that we can be a good defensive team, we just have to play hard the whole game and get locked in.”
Amin says his main role is to create a spark for his team off the bench.
“I take pride in that,” said Amin. “As a fifth-year senior, I know we have to have defensive leadership to win as a team.”
Head coach Dana Altman said the biggest difference between the halves came from his team’s rebounding — a factor he has repeatedly stressed throughout the season.
The highly experienced Toreros moved the ball around with speed and efficiency, finding holes in the Ducks’ defense that provided them open looks from three-point range. By the end of the first half, not only had they won the battle for rebounds, but they had a higher shooting percentage which put them up by seven points.
“We started the game and our activity wasn’t very good,” said Altman. “They had some real easy looks for threes and in transition. I was really disappointed in our start but, again, the rebounding was a big key.”
Altman saw his defense make major improvements contesting shots in the second half, and the Torero’s shooting percentage dropped from 47 percent to 34. Altman said Bol’s shot blocking activity low in the post gave his team a major lift.
“It started with the guards playing really good defense,” said Bol, who continued his impressive freshman season with a well-rounded performance of 20 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and a steal. “They led them into us and then we started blocking a lot of shots.”
But for Altman, he says his team is just scratching the surface of where they should be and where they can be.
“I do like the step we made, I don’t want to take that away from them,” said Altman. “But we have so far to go in our habits and communication.”
On Saturday at 6 p.m., the Ducks will play at home against the 4-5 Boise State Broncos for their third of four straight home games.