The fans at Matthew Knight Arena cheered extra loud when guard Will Richardson was introduced on Friday. He recorded his fourth career 20-point game in Oregon’s season opener on Tuesday, leading the Ducks to an 83-66 victory.
The Ducks showed they’re more than just a one-man show in their second game of the season on Friday.
Richardson starred once again, putting up 18 points. He was just one of four players who scored double-digit points, three of whom put up at least 18. Four players also had four or more rebounds. The Ducks showed their depth and versatility in an all-around dominant 86-63 win over Southern Methodist University.
Oregon went with the same starting five as game one, but mixed in players such as Franck Kepnang and Rivaldo Soares, who combined for 13 of the team’s 39 rebounds. Soares also scored 10 points off the bench.
“We got a lot of good guys on the team,” Soares said. “Nobody’s really selfish on the team… Everybody gets a chance to display their skills.”
The Mustangs took the ball off the opening tip and missed two shots on their first possession. Guard Jacob Young took full advantage, taking the ball and swishing a three to open the scoring.
Young helped the Ducks find an early rhythm, scoring the team’s first six points. Richardson and De’Vion Harmon each made threes as the team went on a 10-0 run, jumping out to a 16-4 lead in the opening minutes.
Eric Williams Jr., who netted only 7 points on Tuesday, hit a three and a field goal back-to-back to pad the early lead to 21-6. He went on to be the Ducks’ leading scorer with 19 points.
“We felt like he was quicker than the two guys that were guarding him,” head coach Dana Altman said of Williams Jr.’s performance. “We just felt like that was a quickness mismatch for us.”
The latter part of the first half was the only time when the Ducks’ dominance faded. With 6:29 left in the half, SMU went on an 8-0 run to make it a 12-point game. After struggling with accuracy in the opening minutes, the Mustangs made five threes in the half to stay within striking distance.
The Ducks had none of it. Richardson heated up near the end of the half with a layup and two threes in the final four minutes. He finished the half with 13 points. Young was right behind him with 12, nearly matching the 14 he put up in game one. Kepnang and Soares scored five and four points off the bench, respectively, and combined for eight rebounds.
Oregon led 50-35 at halftime, shooting at a 63.3% clip compared to SMU’s 41.9%.
The Ducks stormed into the second half with a 9-2 run, despite a few foul calls that had fans groaning. With 14 minutes left in the game, the Ducks had six fouls charged against them to SMU’s one.
Williams Jr. made 8 of Oregon’s first 18 points in the second half, becoming the third Duck to reach double digits on the night.
The offense let up on both sides in the final stretch, as Oregon and SMU combined for just 12 points in a four-minute span. The Ducks had already seized control, holding their 20-plus point lead through the last minutes.
The Ducks secured a stress-free 86-63 victory. Williams Jr. scored 14 of Oregon’s 36 points in the second half, earning MVP honors for the game.
Next up, the Ducks will take on BYU at Matthew Knight Arena at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. They have four more games before Pac-12 play begins.
