For a photo essay of the game, click here.
Despite the outcomes looking similar at the finish, there weren’t many similarities with the Oregon Ducks’ two games so far at in the Global Sports Hoops Showcase at Matthew Knight Arena.
For the second straight game, Oregon used a quick second-half start to slink away from inferior competition, this time the Prairie View A&M Panthers, but other than that, there were few comparisons to draw Wednesday.
The Ducks (8-3) ended up winning 74-66 over the Panthers (4-8), shooting 10 of 21 behind the three-point line to compensate for 11 for 30 shooting from two-point range and a sub-par 22 for 31 at the free-throw line. The night before against North Carolina-Central, stellar free throw shooting and solid defense compensated for an otherwise poor offensive performance.
Oregon head coach Dana Altman picked out the three players who led his team to victory: senior guards Garrett Sim and Devoe Joseph, and junior forward E.J. Singler. Sim led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and three steals, and Joseph scored 19 and registered five steals. Singler had 13 points, shooting 3 of 4 from three-point range, and snagged six rebounds of his own.
“We had three guys play pretty well offensively, Devoe and Garrett and E.J., and it allowed us to score some points,” Altman said. “I’m a little disappointed. We never got into a flow offensively.”
The Panthers were able to hang around before halftime, holding the lead off and on until less than a minute remained in the first half. However, once Joseph started the second half with a three-pointer on a fast break, the Ducks’ lead would never fall below four points for the rest of the game. Joseph went on to have 13 points in the second half to help Oregon pad its lead.
“It just kind of came to me. I hit a couple more and tried to keep it going,” Joseph said.
Altman also noted his team’s struggles with turnovers, as it finished with 18, compared with 11 assists. Senior forward Olu Ashaolu had four turnovers, freshman guard Carlos Emory had three and junior center Tony Woods had two, and the three combined for one assist in the game.
“We couldn’t get the ball in the post and get easy ones there,” Altman said. “They doubled Tony quite a bit and he got a couple offensive fouls.”
Woods struggled throughout the game, racking up two offensive fouls on his way to fouling out in just 15 minutes of action. The Wake Forest transfer recorded just three points and one rebound before being disqualified.
“I think Tony will be fine,” Sim said. “He got a few tough calls, they called some hooks on him and that’s kind of his move. He’s going to bounce back, I’m sure.”
Prairie View was led by point forward Jourdan DeMuynck, who had 10 points and four rebounds, and forward Demondre Chapman, who had 12 points on perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field.
“We finished strong and I think there’s a few good things to take away from it. I think we could have played a lot better,” Sim said. “We’ve just got to put this game behind us and get focused on tomorrow.”
The Ducks round out the tournament tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against Stephen F. Austin, which lost 65-57 to North Carolina-Central in earlier action Wednesday. Prairie View faces off with the Bulldogs in the early game, starting at 4:30 p.m.