Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks goes up for a block against Vanderbilt’s Mario Moore in the Pap
PORTLAND — A stellar
defensive effort propelled the
Oregon men’s basketball team to a 75-65 win against Vanderbilt during the seventh annual Papé Jam at the Rose Garden on Saturday.
The Ducks (4-0 overall) pressured Commodore shooters
relentlessly, forcing them to live and die with perimeter shots.
Fortunately for Oregon, there wasn’t much life in the Vanderbilt offense as the Commodores
shot 39 percent from the floor,
including 21 percent from three-point range.
Saturday’s game marked the fourth consecutive contest in which Oregon held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. Vanderbilt (4-3), which was shooting 45 percent from three-point range before Saturday,
connected on only 5 of 24 from behind the arc.
“We need to stop relying on our three-point shooting,”
Commodore center Dawid
Przybyszewski said. “It was not as effective today as usual. We needed to get the ball inside more and look for open shots.”
At 7-foot-2, Przybyszewski is considered one of the best
outside-shooting big men in the country. However, Oregon limited the senior to six points in 22
minutes after he got into early foul trouble.
With all of the solid defensive plays Oregon made, one stood out from the rest. With his team leading 7-4 early in the first half, Vanderbilt junior guard Mario Moore picked up a loose ball and appeared to be on his way to a layin. Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks never stopped hustling, however, and rose up to block Moore’s shot off the backboard. Moore appeared hesitant after the play, missing two other layups and getting blocked by Brooks again in the second half.
“I’ve been watching Dikembe Mutombo,” Brooks joked. “I don’t know if it took (Moore) out of his game, but it was a good block, I guess.”
Despite entering the game averaging a team-high 16.2 points, Moore was held to 14 points on 4 of 18 shooting.
Offensively, Oregon stayed
aggressive, attacking the hoop at every opportunity. The Ducks drew 27 Commodore fouls, though they connected on only 24 of 39 free throw attempts.
While aggressiveness led to points at the foul line for Oregon, it led to turnovers as well. The Ducks turned the ball over 18 times, including five first-half miscues by Brooks, who started the second half on the bench.
“I knew I had to play better (in the second half),” Brooks said. “I had some unforced turnovers and was sort of out of it.”
Despite the turnovers and the slow, grinding pace of the game, the Ducks shot 55 percent from the floor and led by as many as 14 in the second half.
Oregon forward Ian Crosswhite won the game’s most valuable player honors, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in 34 minutes.
“It was a tough one out there,” Crosswhite said. “We probably didn’t have our best game, but seeing as we are a young team and we’re coming together, I think that shows great character.”
Brooks and Brandon Lincoln were the only other Ducks to finish with double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. Jordan Kent and Malik Hairston added nine points each. Hairston, who injured the thumb on his shooting hand (right) midway through the first half, finished 1 of 7 from the field and 7 of 13 from the foul line.
“It’s great that we’re getting these wins. We need them,” Kent said, “but when we go look at tape, we realize how much better we can still play.”
Next up for Oregon is a showdown with No. 5 Illinois in Chicago Dec. 11. Illinois defeated No. 1 Wake Forest 91-73 Wednesday.
