Dominant Second Half Defines 25-Point Victory

Friday, November 17

Eugene, OR

6:00 PM

University of Oregon

3-0,0-0Pac-12

Tennessee State

3-1,0-0OVC

Tennessee St.

Oregon

11/17/23 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

EUGENE, Ore. — Stingy defense and balance scoring set the table for Oregon men's basketball to outscore Tennessee State by 17 points in the second half as the Ducks powered to a 92-67 victory on Friday night at Matthew Knight Arena.

After entering halftime with a 48-40 advantage that felt narrower than it appeared, the Ducks (3-0) found the spark they needed on a 3-pointer from Jadrian Tracey at the 17:48 mark that began a 20-2 scoring run for UO. Oregon forced the Tigers (3-1) into five turnovers during the six-minute stretch and never let the visitors within 19 for the remainder of the game.

Playing without star center N'Faly Dante as well as freshmen Jackson Shelstad and Mookie Cook, Oregon relied on a balanced attack to score its most points since the 2021-22 season. Tracey led all scorers with 15 points, while Jesse Zarzuela (14), Keeshawn Barthelemy (13), Jermaine Couisnard (12) and Kario Oquendo (11) joined him as double-digit scorers. The Ducks dished out a season-high 22 assists thanks to six from Barthelemy and four from both Zarzuela and freshman Kwame Evans, Jr.

How It Happened: The Tigers shot 50-percent from the field in the first half and put together a string of stops that enabled a 16-5 run late in the period, pulling within three of the Ducks with under two to play. After a shot clock violation by Oregon with five seconds remaining, Couisnard intercepted the ensuing inbound pass and dished it to Zarzuela who knocked down the and-one triple and sank the free-throw to double his team's lead heading into the break.

Oregon opened the scoring in the second half before Tennessee State responded quickly with five-straight points to draw themselves back into the game. Tracey sank his three on the ensuing possession to begin the run for the Ducks, who held the Tigers without a field goal for the next 7:52 of the game. Couisnard scored eight of the game's next 22 points as Oregon opened up a 23-point lead.
"Our defensive energy picked up and we were plus on the boards in the second half," head coach Dana Altman said. "There were no major adjustments in the second half, I just thought we took away some easy baskets that we gave them in the first half."

With under 10 to play UO rattled off another scoring run, this time a 10-2 stretch which extended the lead to its largest of the night, 82-55, with just over seven minutes to play. The lead never fell under 20 points the remainder of the way as Oregon secured its third win in as many games to open the new campaign.

Notable: 92 points is the most by the Ducks since scoring 96 against Portland on Dec. 15, 2021…Oregon outscored Tennessee State in the paint 50-34…Oregon's bench outscored Tennessee State's 38-19.

Up Next: Oregon heads east for a matchup with Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla., on Monday (Nov. 20) at 5 p.m. PT.