In their final game before Pac-12 play begins, the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs 75-63. With the win, the Ducks (11-2) have now won nine games in a row since their loss to Georgetown at the Maui Invitational.
The Ducks were led by junior forward Jordan Bell who scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
“I think my teammates helped me out the most,” Bell said “They kept feeding me the ball and giving me confidence.”
Casey Benson scored seven points off the bench and added five assists and three steals. Dylan Ennis chipped in 13 points, three assists and four rebounds.
As a team, the Ducks shot 56.7 percent in the first half, but cooled to 36.4 percent in the second half. Despite the hot shooting in the first 20 minutes, Oregon struggled from the 3-point line and shot just 3-of-15 shots.
To start the game the Ducks relied heavily on Bell and Dillon Brooks, but they both would struggle with foul trouble throughout the first half. Brooks picked up his second foul with 13:24 left in the half, and Bell at the 11:19 mark. With Chris Boucher missing his second straight game due to injury, this meant that the team was without three of its top players for much of the first half.
“Missing those three guys is big; they’re obviously keys to our team,” Benson said. “We kind of all took on the bulk of the load.”
Defensively, the Ducks held the Bulldogs to 29.6 percent shooting in the first half, but to start the second half, Fresno State cut a 14-point halftime lead down to just five points with 13:58 left. The Bulldogs were aided by 55.2 percent shooting in the second half to help them try to come back.
“We defended really well in the first half,” Bell said. “We made a step somewhat, but we also took a step back in some places.”
The Ducks held Fresno State’s Jahmel Taylor to 0-of-7 from three point. He came into the game shooting 65 percent from 3-point, which was good for second in the nation.
Down the stretch, the Ducks began to rely heavily on Bell, as 14 of his 23 points came in the second half.
“With a lot of guys struggling offensively, it was good that he gave us some firepower there,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said.
The Ducks will now take time off for Christmas break but will reconvene on Christmas night to begin preparations for Pac-12 play.
“We’re grinding things out and finding ways to win games, which is absolutely important in November and December,” Altman said.  “But in some point in time you have to get better.”
The Ducks will have a big opportunity to do that when the UCLA Bruins come to town on Dec. 28 at Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks will then host the undefeated USC Trojans on Dec. 30.
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter @zlast3445