When Oregon faced Western Oregon last year, the game was extremely close at the end of the first half. The Ducks led by four points last year before pulling away for the 28-point victory.
Coming into Wednesday’s game, Oregon made sure there would be no repeat of a close game. The Ducks outrebounded and out-hustled the Wolves in a 93-54 victory. In its most complete game of the season, Oregon improved to 6-2 on the year while extending its winning streak to four games.
“Last year, it was a very close game at halftime so we don’t overlook no team,” Tyler Dorsey said. “We knew we had to come out and jump on them right away at the beginning of the game.”
Ten different Ducks played at least 18 minutes in the game as Casey Benson led the team with 22 minutes played. With 12 minutes left in the game, Oregon opened up a 40-point lead at 60-20 as fans began filing out of Matthew Knight Arena.
“This is kind of the way it worked out,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said on playing time. “When we got the early lead there, I decided to play everybody equal minutes.”
Dillon Brooks returned to his old form to lead Oregon in scoring with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Chris Boucher added 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks while Dorsey chipped in 12 points. Jordan Bell added 12 rebounds and two blocks while fellow big-man Kavell Bigby-Williams had 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Roman Sorkin had a breakout game for the Ducks. The junior from Israel scored a career-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from beyond the arc.
“It was really good for me — I felt ready to make some shots,” Sorkin said. “Every time I step onto the court, I feel like if I got an open shot I can take it — just let the game come to me.”
Throughout the year, Oregon has played well on the defensive side of the ball, limiting all but one opponent to under 70 points every game. While Altman wants to keep the focus on defense, he knew offense would come with this talented of a squad.
“We really needed to get out and move the ball, run some stuff. I thought our intensity was pretty good,” Altman said. “We tried to get everybody involved and I think it was a good step for us moving forward.”
The Ducks consistently found the open man by passing up good looks to get great ones within their offense. Payton Pritchard and Benson played well in their point guard roles, dishing out five and four assists, respectively.
“Coach wants us to keep the ball moving on the offensive end — he wants to change our turnover ratio to assist ratio and have it higher like it was last year,” Dorsey said.
Oregon shot 47 percent from the field and 34.8-percent from 3-point territory. The Ducks also attacked the rim with more authority in the game, shooting 28 free throws and making 23 of them.
“We are really focusing on getting the ball into the paint, whether it’s from driving or getting it to our posts,” Dorsey said. “Getting into the paint and creating from there, dishing it out — there’s a lot of options once we get there”
 
The Ducks will continue their nine-game home-stand when they face Savannah State on Saturday at 3 p.m.