Oregon MBB recap: Ducks pick up narrow win over UC-Riverside
16 turnovers and a tough shooting night from beyond the arc nearly sunk the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday evening, but they were able to hold on and secure a victory over UC-Riverside at Matthew Knight Arena.
A 17-point lead dwindled to three as the Highlanders caught fire late in the second half, but a 19-point effort from guard Brennan Rigsby helped lead the Ducks to a win.
Dana Altman’s squad moves to 6-5 on the year with the victory. They have won four of their last five, a nice response after a rough three-game losing streak in the Phil Knight Invitational.
Rigsby’s performance helped mask a rough night from Oregon’s other starting guards – Rivaldo Soares and Will Richardson – who shot a combined 1-7 from beyond the arc. N’Faly Dante stuffed the stat sheet as well, posting 14 points with five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Oregon gets the Portland Pilots next, as they continue to gel together and get healthier heading into the meat of Pac-12 conference play.
Final Score: Oregon 71, UC-Riverside 65
(Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
Keys to the Game
(Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
UC-Riverside opened the second half of this game a miserable 2-22 from the field, but managed to whittle down a 57-40 deficit in part because of 16 turnovers by the Oregon Ducks.
Oregon only got seven points from their bench, which was just Lok Wur and Kel’el Ware. Wur had five points on 2-3 shooting and Ware had two on 1-1, so at least they were effective.
UC-Riverside took 20 more field goal attempts than the Ducks, but only knocked two more down. Contrastly, Oregon made 19 free throws compared to seven for UC-Irvine. Every Oregon starter took at least four attempts from the line, led by a 6-8 effort from Will Richardson.
Stat Sheet
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Brennan Rigsby: 19 points, 2 assists, 7-9 shooting
N’Faly Dante: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Will Richardson: 13 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Zyon Pullin (UCR): 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
What's Next
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Oregon hosts the Portland Pilots from right up the I5 corridor on Saturday afternoon, with tip scheduled for 5:00 PM at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Pilots are 8-5 on the season and defeated Villanova and narrowly lost to North Carolina and Michigan State during a tremendous run in the Phil Knight Invitational.
