A less-than-dominant start and a late charge from the opposition almost derailed a win for the Ducks in the men’s basketball team’s season opener against Northern Arizona in the first round of the Global Sports Classic on Saturday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks started to pull away just before halftime, leading by 13 at one point, but poor defense in the middle of the second half allowed Northern Arizona to take a one-point lead with five and a half minutes remaining. Once falling behind, Oregon responded well and strung together a series of baskets while shoring up the defense to go on a 11-0 run and secure an all-too-close 83-73 win.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205732741@@
The Ducks saw a diverse scoring effort from an ever-changing lineup, with center Tony Woods scoring 14 points, Damyean Dotson had 13, E.J. Singler scored 12 and Dominic Artis contributed 10.
Oregon never led by more than six points in the first 14 minutes of play, allowing NAU to keep it close due to missed free throws as the Ducks went 14 of 21 from the line in the first half. But with six minutes left before the break, Oregon went on an offensive tear and found its defensive footing, stretching the lead to 13 before closing the half with a 10-point advantage.
The pace slowed in the initial stages of the second half as Oregon scored just 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the half, a meager effort in comparison to the first 10 minutes of the first half, when the Ducks scored 24 points.
Oregon’s lead evaporated in a span of just three minutes, as the Lumberjacks battled back and hit three three-pointers to take a 67-66 lead with 5:44 left in the contest.
Head coach Dana Altman went to his veterans late in hopes of stopping the bleeding, subbing in Singler, Woods, Emory and Loyd. The three seniors and one junior delivered for their coach.
Woods slammed a monstrous dunk to reclaim the lead and a three from Emory and a pair of jumpers from Singler brought life back to the Ducks who stepped up on defense as well to grab a nine-point lead before the desperation fouls started. Oregon cruised in the final minute to a 83-73 win.
“I am glad we found a way to win,” Altman said. “We put our four veterans out there late, we had so many different combinations during the game and a lot of them did not work.”
Turning point. After a Northern Arizona three-ball knotted things at 30-30, the Ducks kicked into gear, going on a 15-2 scoring run to put some distance between them and the Lumberjacks at 45-32. The run ended just before the half and the score at intermission stood at 45-35. Damyean Dotson scored ten points, including two trey-balls during the hot streak.
—Trailing by one, after sacrificing a big lead, the Ducks responded in the final minutes of play with a 9-0 run to close out the matchup.
On the horizon. This was the first game of the season that will count for win-loss records and served as the first round of the Global Sports Classic Tournament. The competition features a field of eight teams, with games Nov. 10th through 20th at campus sites and the semifinals and finals on the 23rd and 24 in Las Vegas. Oregon will play Jacksonville State in Eugene on the 19th.