For the third straight game in the Global Sports Hoops Showcase, the Oregon Ducks (9-3) struggled to put their opponent away in the first half. But this time, a second-half surge didn’t happen, and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (5-7) took the Ducks down to the wire. But clutch shots in the lane from junior forward E.J. Singler and senior guard Garrett Sim stretched Oregon’s lead from three to seven in the final minutes, guiding the Ducks to an eventual 55-45 win over the Lumberjacks Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks struggled again offensively, shooting 18 of 43 from the field and 5 of 18 from three-point range as they swept through the three-game tournament, but their struggles carried over to the free throw line as well, where they shot 14 of 23.
“Our offense isn’t clicking right now,” Singler said. “These past three games for us were rough offensively.”
Oregon head coach Dana Altman shared similar concerns with his team’s offensive performance.
“We’re going to have to make some plays, we’re going to have to cut down on turnovers, but we’re a better offensive team than what we’ve shown,” Altman said.
However, Altman praised Oregon’s defense, as it held Stephen F. Austin to 19 field goals on 52 attempts, including 1-for-12 three-point shooting.
Oregon was led offensively by Singler, who had 12 points and four rebounds, and senior guard Devoe Joseph, who had 10 first-half points and a team-leading eight rebounds, and was the only Duck with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. The Ducks turned the ball over 14 times and only had six assists for the game, three of which were by Joseph.
“Whenever the ball is not dropping in the net and you still get a win, you just have to have faith that it will drop in the net for you in the next game,” Joseph said.
The Ducks had led by as many as seven early in the second half, but the Lumberjacks cut the lead to 38-37 with 6:53 to go in the second half, but Oregon outscored Stephen F. Austin 17-8 down the stretch to seal the game.
Oregon senior forward Olu Ashaolu rolled his left ankle with fewer than five minutes remaining in the game and briefly went to the locker room, but returned to the game in its final seconds. Altman said there is no likely long-term injury risk for the Louisiana Tech transfer, who finished the game with nine points and six rebounds.
The Lumberjacks were carried offensively by center Jereal Scott, who had 16 points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds. The next highest scorer was reserve guard Hal Bateman, who had eight points. However, Stephen F. Austin’s starting backcourt of Antonio Bostic, Darius Gardner and Desmond Haymon combined for eight points on 4-for-24 shooting, including going 0 for 10 from three-point range. The Lumberjacks ended up shooting 3 for 36 from behind the arc in the tournament as they lost all three games.
In earlier action at the tournament, North Carolina-Central defeated Prairie View A&M 69-58. North Carolina-Central became the first team besides Oregon to win multiple games at Matthew Knight Arena. The Eagles were led by forward Dominique Sutton, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four steals.
The Ducks will take three days off from practice over Christmas before restarting Monday, Dec. 26. Their next game is Dec. 29 against Washington State in Spokane. They will then travel across the state to take on Washington on Dec. 31. Oregon’s next home game is against California on Jan. 5, 2012.
As it wraps up its nonconference schedule, Oregon’s record outside the Pac-12 Conference is the best it has been in four seasons.
“We’re not happy with a 9-3 start, but it’s not a bad record,” Singler said.