National Basketball Association
Oregon 76, Valparaiso 54
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 17, 2016
Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Oregon
Officials:
# Daryl Gelinas, # Gregory Nixon, # Tommy Nunez Jr.
Attendance:
7509
By The Sports Xchange
EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon built some momentum heading into the Maui Invitational.
After a lackluster, season-opening win over Army and a loss to Baylor on Tuesday, the fourth-ranked Ducks defeated Valparaiso 76-54 Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
"A lot of positives there for the guys, I thought they bounced back real good," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "Just a much better team effort. They were much more focused, the energy level was much better."
Oregon (2-1) flies out Friday for the Maui Invitational, where it faces Georgetown in the first round on Monday. Wisconsin and North Carolina join the Ducks as ranked teams in the field.
"We're very excited," Oregon forward Jordan Bell said. "There are some good teams in that tournament."
Senior center Chris Boucher had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Ducks against Valparaiso, while Bell had 15 points and seven rebounds.
"That was our goal, to go inside," Bell said. "We wanted to go inside out, and when they doubled us inside, kick it out."
Freshman guard Payton Pritchard had nine points and five assists for the Ducks, who shot 48.2 percent from the field after going 15 of 27 in the second half.
Boucher and Bell helped Oregon outrebound the Crusaders 40-27.
"If you're not beating people on the boards, you're not taking advantage of your athleticism," Altman said.
Forward Alec Peters had 24 points to lead Valparaiso (3-1), while guard Tevonn Walker added 12 and a team-high six rebounds. The Crusaders shot 32.1 percent from the field, including 4 of 21 from 3-point range.
Oregon led 47-38 early in the second half after a tip-in by Peters, but then Ducks guard Tyler Dorsey made a free throw, Bell had a dunk, and forward Kavell Bigby-Williams made a layup to increase the margin to 52-38.
Pritchard added a 3-pointer to push Oregon's lead to 59-40 with 9:34 to play.
Valparaiso led 16-13 after Peters made a jumper just over seven minutes into the game, but Boucher followed with a dunk and a tip-in before making two free throws to put the Ducks ahead 19-16.
Boucher later added a dunk to give Oregon its biggest lead of the half at 29-20 before finishing the period with a pair of free throws that put the Ducks ahead 37-30.
Boucher had 18 points and three rebounds in the first half. The Ducks shot 41.4 percent from the field in the half while outrebounding Valparaiso 18-13.
Peters had 11 points in the half to pace the Crusaders, who shot 42.3 percent from the field before the break.
NOTES: Oregon is still without all-conference junior F Dillon Brooks, who has missed the first three games following foot surgery. The Ducks hope he can return for the Maui Invitational next week. ... Oregon freshman F M.J. Cage has missed all three games due to a knee injury and may sit out a redshirt season. ... The Ducks' No. 4 ranking is the highest in school history. ... Oregon has won 27 consecutive home games, the fifth-longest active streak in the NCAA.
Top Game Performances
| Valparaiso |
|
Oregon |
|
Alec Peters 24 |
Scoring |
Chris Boucher 25 |
|
Jubril Adekoya 1 |
Assists |
Payton Pritchard 5 |
|
Tevonn Walker 6 |
Rebounds |
Chris Boucher 9 |
|
Alec Peters 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Chris Boucher 4 |
|
Shane Hammink 2 |
Steals |
Chris Boucher 1 |
|
Max Joseph 1 |
Blocks |
Jordan Bell 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Valparaiso
|
54 |
32.1 |
4-21 |
14-14 |
5 |
25 |
3 |
6 |
11 |
| Oregon
|
76 |
48.2 |
7-21 |
15-19 |
16 |
33 |
6 |
2 |
12 |
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