It was looking to be a quiet afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena, with most of its award-winning student section off for winter break. Still, the hometown fans brought their “A game” and helped bring the noise as Oregon (5-5, 0-2 Big Ten) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 104-62 blowout win over the UC Davis Aggies (5-4). Jackson Shelstad led the way with 21 points and nine assists — plus added multiple steals as the Ducks’ offense shut down its opponent.
The Ducks won the tip, and it was off to the races from there. Nate Bittle opened the scoring after going 0-11 in their previous game against UCLA. Oregon had the momentum early, following an emphatic chasedown block from Takai Simpkins.
Simpkins had one of the best defensive performances of his career with two blocks and one steal on top of 18 points on 7-8 shooting. Shelstad was a defensive leader on the team, with three steals, and led the team in points. He commanded the offense with a career-high nine assists.
“We need him to do that, when he’s making plays, everybody makes plays,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “He kind of gets the ball rolling for everybody, he’s got the ball in his hands and we want the ball in his hands.”
Defense was the difference maker early for the Ducks, who forced UC Davis to miss all of its first seven shots, which set up a 16-0 run to start the game for Oregon. UC Davis struggled to handle the size difference, as the Ducks attacked the rim early and often and forced mismatches against the Aggies’ smaller guards.
The 3-pointers started flying early as well, with Wei Lin, Shelstad and Simpkins cashing in from behind the arc early, but the team overall was inefficient from deep, where it was 4-12 in the first half. The Ducks were also flying towards the rim with multiple big slam dunks in the first half.
It was 52-16 heading into halftime, with Shelstad leading the team in scoring with 11 points and five assists. Kwame Evans Jr led the team in rebounds with 10 heading into the break.
The second half started off slow until Simpkins drilled a corner 3-pointer to get the ball rolling.
The rebounding differential was monumental, with Oregon, led by Evans, outrebounding UC Davis 43-21 by the end of the game.
“[Evans] just needs to rebound. He got 13 rebounds, that gets him going,” Altman said. “When he’s rebounding he’s involved, we’ve found that out over the last two years, if he doesn’t, he just stands there watching the game.”
Transfer center Ege Demir was a difference maker in the second half, picking up a pair of one baskets and a quick block in three straight possessions. He finished the game with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block in his best performance of the season.
“I thought [Demir] did a lot of good things, just slowing down on some of his finishes,” Altman said. “Defensively, did some good things and other times, way out of position. I thought he made a big step, (and) did some really good things.”
The Ducks’ defense also continued to set the pace as the Ducks picked up four second-half steals and held the Aggies to 4-12 shooting to start the period.
On the other end, the Oregon offense started to slow down with turnovers starting to pile up halfway through the second half. Shelstad turned the ball over four times on the afternoon, with three coming in the second half.
Oregon still managed to score in bunches to win the game handily, 104-62. The Ducks will take on the Portland Pilots at home on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. before heading off to Portland to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Moda Center on Dec. 21 at 3 p.m.
