The Oregon Ducks needed to start December off on the right foot.
After dropping their last two games and playing their last six against teams picked to finish first or second in their respective preseason polls, Oregon needed to regroup and make changes for their return home.
This game against Hawaii was a breath of fresh air and a chance to see the adjustments made from the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. It showed that these adjustments are not going to be perfect overnight, but they are happening.
The slow first half start looked all too familiar from the woes in the Bahamas where Oregon trailed in most of the first halfs, especially in the Gonzaga and North Carolina games.
Slow starts in the Bahamas ailed their chances, but this time, the outcome was different.
“This week wasn’t a good week of practice, we came out sluggish, not a lot of energy, and it showed in the first half,” guard Will Richardson said.
Oregon failed to adhere to the scouting report, with Hawaii making Oregon pay for not contesting threes fast enough, thus Hawaii made 12 of their first 13 points beyond the arc. Hawaii’s Eddie Stansberry led Hawaii with a game-high seven threes, four of which came in the first half.
“In the first half we kinda lost their best shooter on the floor to threes,” Richardson said. “We lost him a couple times and gave him some easy looks.”
The message at halftime: Energy, energy, energy.
Another adjustment Oregon needed post-Bahamas was rebounding. The Ducks were outrebounded in almost every game of the tournament. Tonight, they cleaned up the boards,out-rebounding Hawaii 31-19 and 25-10 in the second half.
Their rebounding weakness shined in the Bahamas, but they made in-game adjustments on Saturday that made a difference in the outcome.
“We still probably didn’t do as good as we should have, but the second half we picked it up and that was one of our biggest takeaways from the Bahamas,” Richardson said.
Payton Pritchard propelled the team to a 13 to one run in the second half, kicking it off by draining two consecutive top of the key threes Pritchard finished with a double double of 20 points and 11 assists and was the catalyst in the Duck’s second half play.
Walker’s standout performances in the Bahamas carried over into Saturday’s game and boosted his confidence in the minutes that he receives. Walker contributed to the dominant second half, scoring a season-high 18 points in his first start for the Ducks in place of an injured Shakur Juiston. 14 of his points came after halftime.
“I had a couple of low-scoring games my first games, but after that I started to get used to it and running the offense right,” Walker said. “The more you’re out there, the more you can contribute.”
Richardson by adding a quiet 16 points off the bench and energy on both ends of the floor to extend the lead and maintain the aggressiveness.
Overall, Oregon scraped out a win with an energetic second half and was on the winning side this time after another poor first half start.
The Ducks will be on the road again for a single game matchup in Ann Arbor, Michigan against the No. 4 ranked Wolverines on December 14.
Follow Carly on Twitter @carlyebisuya.
