In what has been a week to forget for Oregon, the Ducks added some stability to their season with a 68-65 win over California at home Wednesday night to improve their overall record to 12-3 and their Pac-12 record to 1-1.
The Ducks started their conference schedule on a rocky note with a road loss to Oregon State on Sunday, and found out just hours before this game that senior graduate transfer Dylan Ennis will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury. But the Ducks responded with one of their strongest performances of the year in a game that could have sent their season sliding downhill.
“We needed a win; there’s no doubt,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “As disappointed as I was Sunday, I’m equally as proud tonight… We didn’t play well offensively but we kept competing and our defense was better.”
Oregon received standout performances from newcomers Tyler Dorsey and Chris Boucher. Each finished with team-highs of 18 points, and it was Dorsey who hit a big shot when the Ducks needed it.
With just under a minute remaining and the Ducks clinging to a three point lead, Dorsey drilled a corner three on a perfectly executed inbound play to put the Ducks ahead and take momentum of the game.
“Casey (Benson) found me, and I just knocked it down,” Dorsey said. “I think that separated the game and then we just had to knock down free throws.”
Dorsey’s shot was the deciding factor in a sloppy game that featured 15 lead changes. Oregon shot just 32 percent in the first half but stayed in the game thanks to the sharp shooting of Dorsey — he shot 4-of-6 from three for the game — as well as a flurry of athletic baskets from Boucher.
Boucher went toe-to-toe with Cal big-man Ivan Rab, one of the top power forwards in the country, and more than held his own. Rabb sat most of the first half due to foul trouble, and while Boucher failed to capitalize then, he did score ten points on 3-of-4 shooting in the second half.
Boucher finished the game with 18 points, five boards and four blocks, while Rab ended with 17 points and nine rebounds in just 23 minutes.
California boasts as good of a starting lineup as any team in the conference, and with the exception of Rabb in the second half, the Ducks did a relatively good job of holding the Bear starters in check.
“I was really impressed with Cal’s talent,” Altman said. “(Jaylen) Brown and (Rabb)… They’re just so talented, and Tyrone Wallace has always hurt us. Jordan Matthews has always killed us. He got 32 here his freshman year and we didn’t even know who he was… We did a better job on him tonight.”
One win doesn’t fix the pile of problems that have been presented to Oregon this week, but it could go a long way in sending them in the right direction.
Casey Benson is now the guy at point guard for the Ducks, and he finished the night with eight points on 2-of-5 shooting, two assists, no turnovers and some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. He may not be able to fill the offensive hole that will be left in Ennis’s absence, but he has been a solid floor general all season and certainly won’t detract from Oregon’s offensive play if he continues to take care of the ball as well as he has.
The question now is who will run the offense when Benson is not on the floor.
Freshman Kendall Small played 12 minutes for the Ducks tonight, and while he took zero total shots and finished 1-for-4 from the free throw line, Altman liked what he saw.
“I thought Kendall played really well,” Altman said. “If he would have hit his free throws, he would have had a heck of a game. His defense really helps us, his activity really helps us; he’s the quickest guy we’ve got… He has to get some time, I haven’t played him much.”
“Those were some big free throws in a big-time situation. I’m less concerned with him missing than I am with guys who have been there and done that.”
Follow Jarrid on Twitter @jdenney50
Oregon gets back on track with home win over Cal
Jarrid Denney
January 5, 2016
Kaylee Domzalski
Oregon Ducks guard Tyler Dorsey (5) guards the ball against California Golden Bears forward Ivan Rabb (1). The Oregon Ducks face the California Golden Bears at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. on Jan. 6, 2016. (Kaylee Domzalski/Emerald)
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