It was a record-breaking night for Oregon men’s basketball as the program won its 15th successive game and 37th straight home win, but Dillon Brooks suffered a lower left leg injury late in the first half and did not return to the court.
Brooks had surgery on his left foot during the offseason and did not play until the Maui Invitational in nonconference play. Now that Oregon is into the heart of Pac-12 play, Brooks has proven to be an instrumental leader on the court. Without his ability in the second half, a range of Oregon players had to fill his void in the 86-63 win over Cal.
“People had to step up,” sophmore Tyler Dorsey said. “When people go down like Dillon Brooks, people have to step up and that’s what we did on the defensive end and the offensive end.”
Oregon had a strong start to the game but Cal kept pace for the first five minutes of the night, taking a 9-8 lead for a brief possession but things changed quickly for the Ducks.
“Picking it up on the defensive end [sparked the run],” Dorsey said. “[Jabari] Bird got it going from the three so we had to not leave him open. After that we got points off turnovers and that fueled that run. ”
The Ducks turned up the heat after Casey Benson entered the game after Peyton Pritchard got into early foul trouble. Benson scored four 3-pointers in the first half in as many attempts and then added a fifth in the middle of the second half.
“The first one went down, got into a rhythm,” Benson said. “Credit to my teammates. They found me a bunch of times with great passes.”
Oregon pulled away in the first half and led 44-30 at halftime thanks to Benson’s 12 points and Brooks’ 10. However, Brooks’ injury overshadowed the impressive first half display.
The Ducks kept it coming in the second half, slowly inching away from Cal. Oregon’s defense shut down sophomore Ivan Rabb, who was 2-of-10 with only four points. He had four fouls.
“[Rabb] is obviously a big-time player,” Benson said. “We just wanted to frustrate him and I think we did that tonight.”
Jordan Bell continued to shine with a career-high 26 points, going 11-of-12 from the field with four blocks.
“He’s never been a scorer and we thought that part of his game would continue to develop, and it is,” Altman said. “I think there’s still a lot more. He just had one of those nights.”
Looking forward, the Ducks host Stanford, but the biggest concern for the Ducks going forward is Brooks’ health.
“We didn’t have him earlier this season,” Dorsey said. “He’s a big asset to our team but we have to get ready not knowing what’s happening with him so people have to step up and be ready.”
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow