At the half, Oregon’s Chris Boucher flirted with a double-double – he had 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
As Oregon concluded its preseason schedule with a 91-40 rout of visiting Southern Oregon, the 6-foot-10 junior college transfer looked primed to enter regular season play.
Boucher finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks en route to another sound game all across the board.
“He led the nation in JC last year (in blocks),” Dwayne Benjamin said. “He can get ‘em. Some you don’t think he won’t get, he gets them. It helps our defense out a lot.”
In his final year at Northwest College in Wyoming, Boucher averaged 22.5 points and 11.8 rebounds.
With his best rim protector Jordan Bell sidelined with a broken foot, Dana Altman has looked to the reigning Spalding NJCAA Division I Player of the Year for support. What he’s gotten in return is a seasoned veteran that understands his role – to block shots, run up and down the court.
While Oregon plans to appeal Boucher’s one year loss of eligibility, their chances aren’t looking too good as things stand right now.
“He’s a big part of our team, especially with Jordan not able to go here for awhile yet,” Altman said.
“He does this every day in practice,” Dwayne Benjamin said. “Just to see it translate in the game and see how much fun he’s having doing it. It’s kind of a little special for me being a JC, I know what he’s been through, so I’m just happy he’s doing well right now.”
Tonight, Boucher showed once more that he could influence play on both ends of the court, while also stretching the floor with his outside shooting ability.
“I liked his activity,” Altman said of Boucher. “He is playing hard and he does that in practice. Those are the kind of numbers we’ve seen in practice.”
For the second straight game, Oregon struggled to knock down outside shots. After going 1-for-17 against Northwest Christian, the Ducks followed up with a slightly better 5-of-18 outing. Still, Altman wasn’t too pleased with his team’s shot selection.
After exploding for a game-high 26 points and 11 boards against the Beacons, Dillon Brooks cooled down this game with a modest 10 points and four assists in 22 minutes.
Dwayne Benjamin, who came of the bench for the second straight game, totaled a team-high 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Freshman guard Tyler Dorsey continued to show his potential with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in his second start.
“Tyler is very talented,” Casey Benson said. “To see him play really well, it’s great to see. Obviously we’re going to need him big time (moving forward).”
Southern Oregon dropped to 3-2 on the season.
Heading into regular season play, Altman will be emphasizing more physicality on the glass, better execution of the offense and overall sense of urgency.
“We’re going after boards, but we’re not putting a lot of bodies on the defensive glass,” Altman pointed out as Oregon’s biggest concern. “Our ability to execute the offense would be second (on the list of things to work on).”
Oregon will face Jackson State this Friday at Matthew Knight Arena. Tipoff is set for a 7 p.m. start.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim
Chris Boucher does a little bit of everything in 91-40 rout of Southern Oregon
Hayden Kim
November 7, 2015
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