Oregon men’s basketball (6-5, 0-2 Big Ten) earned a 94–69 win over Portland (7-5), in a game defined by defensive pressure and quick breaks to the basket. This combination gave the team a stifling late lead and the Pilots could not hold the Ducks back.
Portland won the opening tip and controlled game possession early. In the opening possession, Oregon committed a personal foul, giving the Pilots the first points of the game. Despite missing his first 3-point attempt, Pilots guard Joel Foxwell quickly found his rhythm and became the Pilots’ leading scorer on the night with 21 points.
Foxwell wasn’t the only one hitting shots. For the Ducks, Kwame Evans Jr. matched Foxwell for the game-high in points, with 21. With ups and downs from the season tonight’s game may have been a turning point for the team.
“I think it’s us coming together,” Evans said. “I think (it’s) us really trying to become a team, being connected on offensive and defense.”
Center Nate Bittle followed closely behind in scoring for Oregon, finishing with 18 total points on the night.
“On the defensive rebound, when we stand in front of people and guarding and rebounding, nobody’s always doing too much on us,” Evans said.
The two teams continued to sink shots, highlighted by a string of five back-and-forth 3-pointers made on both sides of the ball starting with Bittle and responded to by Foxwell.
“I really like the inside-out ones,” Altman said of the 3-point shots from the team. “I thought we took a lot of good ones, you know, and just the quick ones didn’t work out of us.”
Oregon had a comfortable 10 point lead heading into the second half, but the Pilots were ready for their shot with a quick 3-point jumper by Mikah Ballew to put Portland on the board first.
“We were down at halftime by five (rebounds), and ended up winning by five, so we rebounded better in the second half, but a long way to go,” Altman said. “We’ve got to get much more discipline on both ends of the floor.”
The Ducks recorded 13 steals total on the night compared to Portland’s five. Despite continued effort from Portland, Oregon overwhelmed the Pilots down the stretch.
“I mean, you would think after two scrimmages and 11 games of the same stat, that at some point in time it will sink in,” Altman said. “But, you know, our turnovers came on one side…guys trying to make a play quick in the possession that weren’t there.”
The Ducks will face No. 7 Gonzaga in a neutral-site matchup at Portland’s Moda Center on Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. as part of the Northwest Elite Showdown.
