Drew Wiley, who received little playing time throughout the first half of Pacific-10 Conference play, provided Oregon with an encouraging performance Saturday despite its record-tying 11th straight league loss.
The freshman from Springfield scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and made a career-high five three-pointers, after making three threes the entire Pac-10 season leading up to the game. He was Oregon’s second-leading scorer behind Tajuan Porter, who made 21 points.
“I’m pleased with the way Drew Wiley joined the party,” head coach Ernie Kent said.
Averaging 3.3 points per game in 9.6 minutes per game this season, Wiley hadn’t seen extensive time in any Pac-10 games as much as he did this weekend.
The 6-foot-7 forward made his mark in the game against Arizona State by contributing on the defensive end with three rebounds, but his reputation as a shooter proved correct against the Wildcats.
“I know I should be shooting,” Wiley said. “I am trying to get on the floor as much as I can, so I can get better. I was happy with my game today.”
Wiley said he and the Ducks knew what to expect from the Wildcats in their teams’ second meeting of the season. And after allowing Sun Devils star James Harden to score 36 points Thursday night, the Ducks knew Arizona stars Chase Budinger, Nic Wise and Jordan Hill would look to take the game over on Saturday.
For the first half, Kent was happy with the pace and play of the game, with Oregon down by only one point at halftime. Wiley scored seven points during the first half, but when he began to play better in the second half, so did Arizona.
Wise scored three straight three-pointers during its game-clinching run midway through the second half, finishing with 17 points. Budinger scored a game-high 25, while Hill had 24 points.
“Everybody knows Chase is a good player,” Hill said. “I guess they want to call us the ‘big three’ now.”
“We have to start the second half better,” Wiley said. “We just need to put two halves together.”
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