Saturday, December 15
Eugene, OR
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
7-3
66
vs
54
Boise State
4-6
1
2
F
Boise St.
28
26
54
Oregon
24
42
66
Photo by: Rylee Marron / Eric Evans Photography
Ducks Step Up To Fill Void
12/15/18 | Men's Basketball
With freshman phenom Bol Bol sitting out due to injury, the UO men found their footing in the second half to beat Boise State on Saturday, 66-54.
EUGENE, Ore. — Playing without freshman phenom Bol Bol, the Oregon men's basketball team found its stride in the second half Saturday and beat Boise State, 66-54, before 8,506 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
Bol, who is averaging 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds in nine games, was declared out prior to Saturday's tip due to a foot injury that will be further evaluated next week. In his absence, Payton Pritchard led the way against the Broncos with 19 points, Paul White added 14 and Victor Bailey Jr. scored 13.
"Bol brings a lot of things to the table," Bailey said. "We've all got to step up."
How It Happened: With White replacing Bol in the starting lineup, the Ducks (7-3) didn't find much traction early on. Boise State jumped out to a 13-6 lead, and though Oregon then held the Broncos without a field goal for 6:07 of the first half, the Ducks could only parlay that into an 18-15 lead.
Boise State (4-6) ended its shooting slump with a game-tying three-pointer, then held Oregon scoreless for the final 2:58 of the first half to lead 28-24 at halftime. Francis Okoro played nine minutes in the first half, scoring four points in minutes available due to Bol's absence.
Oregon's halftime deficit owed in no small part to 34.8 percent shooting, and the Ducks quickly turned that around in the second half. A three-pointer by Louis King gave the Ducks a 29-28 lead after two possessions, and Will Richardson made a reverse layin moments later to put the UO men in the lead for good at 33-32. The Ducks made 7-of-10 attempts to open the second half, shooting 65.0 percent overall after halftime.
"We got a couple transition baskets, and the ball movement was a little bit better," UO coach Dana Altman said. "Payton made some plays, and we got to the line more."
Indeed, Pritchard put on a show midway through the second half to keep the Broncos from closing the gap. With Oregon leading 46-41, Pritchard scored nine of the Ducks' next 11 points, crashing the boards to tip in his own miss and wrapping up the run with a three-pointer for a 57-46 lead. Late in the game, Pritchard added an exclamation point, a fallaway three with one second left on the shot clock, to put Oregon up 63-52.
"Payton kind of jumped into his Allen Iverson bag today," White said. "Fadeaways, step-throughs — it was tough. It was tough buckets in crunch time, so we were very grateful for that."
Who Stood Out: Pritchard finished 7-of-12 shooting and added five rebounds with three steals. White and King also had five rebounds apiece, and Kenny Wooten had five points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Saturday also featured the UO debut of freshman Miles Norris. Altman said Norris determined earlier this month that he no longer wanted to preserve his redshirt and preferred to see the floor this season.
"His shooting is really improved the last month," Altman said. "So that's been encouraging. His board play, his activity has increased. He's a very good athlete. … I think he can make the adjustment pretty quick, and give us a few minutes."
What It Means: The Ducks will wait and see what the extent of Bol's injury is — "we'll play it day by day," Altman said — but for at least one night on Saturday managed a solid victory in his absence.
Notable: The UO women's team led fans in a cheer during a timeout Saturday. The Ducks host a battle of top-10 teams when Mississippi State plays in MKA on Tuesday night, the second leg of a doubleheader following the men's team's next game. … The Ducks were outrebounded 18-12 in the first half, but had a 21-8 edge on the boards after halftime. … White's 13 points were his most since the senior scored 15 in Oregon's season opener against Portland State.
Up Next: The Ducks host Florida A&M in a rare midweek matinee on Tuesday (3 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Bol, who is averaging 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds in nine games, was declared out prior to Saturday's tip due to a foot injury that will be further evaluated next week. In his absence, Payton Pritchard led the way against the Broncos with 19 points, Paul White added 14 and Victor Bailey Jr. scored 13.
"Bol brings a lot of things to the table," Bailey said. "We've all got to step up."
How It Happened: With White replacing Bol in the starting lineup, the Ducks (7-3) didn't find much traction early on. Boise State jumped out to a 13-6 lead, and though Oregon then held the Broncos without a field goal for 6:07 of the first half, the Ducks could only parlay that into an 18-15 lead.
Boise State (4-6) ended its shooting slump with a game-tying three-pointer, then held Oregon scoreless for the final 2:58 of the first half to lead 28-24 at halftime. Francis Okoro played nine minutes in the first half, scoring four points in minutes available due to Bol's absence.
Oregon's halftime deficit owed in no small part to 34.8 percent shooting, and the Ducks quickly turned that around in the second half. A three-pointer by Louis King gave the Ducks a 29-28 lead after two possessions, and Will Richardson made a reverse layin moments later to put the UO men in the lead for good at 33-32. The Ducks made 7-of-10 attempts to open the second half, shooting 65.0 percent overall after halftime.
"We got a couple transition baskets, and the ball movement was a little bit better," UO coach Dana Altman said. "Payton made some plays, and we got to the line more."
Indeed, Pritchard put on a show midway through the second half to keep the Broncos from closing the gap. With Oregon leading 46-41, Pritchard scored nine of the Ducks' next 11 points, crashing the boards to tip in his own miss and wrapping up the run with a three-pointer for a 57-46 lead. Late in the game, Pritchard added an exclamation point, a fallaway three with one second left on the shot clock, to put Oregon up 63-52.
"Payton kind of jumped into his Allen Iverson bag today," White said. "Fadeaways, step-throughs — it was tough. It was tough buckets in crunch time, so we were very grateful for that."
Who Stood Out: Pritchard finished 7-of-12 shooting and added five rebounds with three steals. White and King also had five rebounds apiece, and Kenny Wooten had five points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Saturday also featured the UO debut of freshman Miles Norris. Altman said Norris determined earlier this month that he no longer wanted to preserve his redshirt and preferred to see the floor this season.
"His shooting is really improved the last month," Altman said. "So that's been encouraging. His board play, his activity has increased. He's a very good athlete. … I think he can make the adjustment pretty quick, and give us a few minutes."
What It Means: The Ducks will wait and see what the extent of Bol's injury is — "we'll play it day by day," Altman said — but for at least one night on Saturday managed a solid victory in his absence.
Notable: The UO women's team led fans in a cheer during a timeout Saturday. The Ducks host a battle of top-10 teams when Mississippi State plays in MKA on Tuesday night, the second leg of a doubleheader following the men's team's next game. … The Ducks were outrebounded 18-12 in the first half, but had a 21-8 edge on the boards after halftime. … White's 13 points were his most since the senior scored 15 in Oregon's season opener against Portland State.
Up Next: The Ducks host Florida A&M in a rare midweek matinee on Tuesday (3 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Team Stats
BS
ORE
FG%
.353
.488
3FG%
.438
.286
FT%
.611
.800
RB
26
33
TO
10
12
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
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