Sparring with one of the Pacific-10 Conference’s best big men brought out the best so far in Oregon center Michael Dunigan’s short conference career, a glimmer of hope in the Ducks’ fifth straight league defeat.
Washington entered with a plus-11 rebounding margin per game, the best in the nation. After being outrebounded 23-16 in the first half, the Huskies finished with 44 on the night to Oregon’s 38. Junior forward Quincy Pondexter grabbed eight rebounds in the second half alone to finish with nine overall, while forward Jon Brockman had five more in the second half, including three on the offensive glass.
Keeping Dunigan on the floor and out of foul trouble gave the Ducks a shot in the first half, down 40-37 at the half.
Dunigan, averaging 16 minutes and four fouls per game in his first four Pac-10 games, played 29 minutes and committed only two personal fouls while grabbing eight rebounds and scoring 11 points. It was his work on the defensive end, however, that brought the McArthur Court crowd to its feet on several occasions.
During stretches, the 6-foot-10 freshman got the best of Washington’s Jon Brockman on several emphatic blocks. Dunigan finished with four blocks on the night, half of Oregon’s eight.
“We spent the past week trying to clean up fouls, especially him,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “He changed some shots, blocked some shots … You can’t fault the big guys.”
Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar, who has seen Brockman become only the 10th player in Pac-10 history to score 1,500 points and grab 1,000 rebounds, came away impressed.
“He’s going to be something to reckon with when he figures everything out,” Romar said.
His own big man wasn’t too bad himself, despite finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds, both lower than his season averages. On his eighth rebound, Brockman set the school record, finishing with 1,054 for his career. Saddled with early foul trouble, the 6-foot-9 senior wasn’t pleased with his effort early on.
“They did a great job on defense on the inside,” he said. “I didn’t start the game off very well and that’s basketball.”
Romar credited Oregon’s intensity and hustle in the first half to its rebounding lead, while the Huskies were able to turn the tables in the second half.
“I thought in the first half they just competed harder than us,” Romar said. “They got to more loose balls whereas in the second half we really turned it up in terms of our level of intensity.”
The Huskies have now won 10 of their last 11 games.
If Oregon’s inside game was a presence for the Ducks, its home atmosphere didn’t faze the Huskies. Senior guard Justin Dentmon scored 22 points and freshman guard Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 23 in his first game at Mac Court. Dentmon said the energy level wasn’t like he had prepared the freshmen for.
“No not really, I told (Thomas) the fans are usually just feeling it when we warm up, and we can’t hear each other,” he said. “This was way, way not the way we expected the crowd.”
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