Balanced Attack Leads Ducks past Ball State

Sunday, November 19

Eugene, OR

6:00 PM

University of Oregon

4-0

Ball State

1-3

Team	1	2	F
Ball State	33	38	71
Oregon	42	53	95

11/19/17 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Oregon-Ball State Box Score 2017-18 Season Stats

Five Oregon players scored in double-figures, led by Payton Pritchard's career-high 20 in a 95-71 win over Ball State.

By: Derren Iha

EUGENE, Ore. – Led by Payton Pritchard's career-high 20 points, five players reached double figures in scoring as Oregon used a balanced offensive attack to defeat Ball State 95-71 on Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena.

How it Happened: The two teams went back-and-forth in an opening 10 minutes that saw six lead changes and four ties as the Ducks (4-0) took a 24-18 lead with 8:52 to go in the first half. The Cardinals (1-3) then went on an 11-0 run over the next 2:23 to jump in front 29-24 with 6:29 remaining.

Oregon immediately answered with a run of its own, outscoring Ball State 16-0 over the next 4:28, taking a 40-29 lead with just over two minutes left in the half. The Ducks turned up the defensive pressure towards the end of the half holding the Cardinals to just 1-of-8 from the field in the last 5:46 and took a 42-33 lead into halftime.

The Ducks came out firing in the second half, going on a 14-2 run to break the game open and take a 56-35 lead with 16:04 to go. Oregon made eight of its first nine field goals to start the half while Ball State started just 2-of-11 out of the break.

Pritchard scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-5 at the free throw line after the break. Oregon outshot Ball State after halftime 52 percent to 35 percent when the Ducks outscored the Cardinals 53-38.

Who Stood Out: Pritchard set a career-high with his 20 points while also recording a season-high eight assists without any turnovers. Elijah Brown scored 17 points and Victor Bailey Jr. added 16 points to give the Ducks a scoring punch off the bench. MiKyle McIntosh had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Paul White finished with 11 to round out the group of Ducks who scored double-figures.

Quotable:
Dana Altman, Head Coach

On how the team responded after falling behind…
"We turned up the defense a little bit and our ball movement was a little better. I thought the pace we started the second half with was good, we moved the ball up and down the floor so I thought our pace improved and we cut our turnovers down."

On the offensive balance…
"I think that's the best way for us to play because we have a number of guys who can score. I think as we continue to move on, we'll get guys some shots that they really like."

Paul White, Junior, Forward

On the progress of the team through four games…
"I think that we're really starting to mesh as a team. I'm glad that we were able to have those first four games to see where we were at and we see that there are a lot of improvements we do need to make, but luckily we are all on the same page."

Notable: The Ducks extended their nation-best home-winning streak to 46 games … Oregon won its 23rd consecutive non-conference home game … It was the third game in a row that the Ducks had five players reach double-digits in scoring … Oregon dominated the boards, outrebounding Ball State 45-31.

Up Next: The Ducks will head to Portland to play in the PK80 Invitational beginning Thursday against Connecticut at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.