MBB | Gritty Second Half Pushes Oregon Past San Diego 65-55

Behind Bol Bol’s 20 points and an aggressive defense that forced 16 turnovers and tallied six blocks, the Oregon men’s basketball (6-3) team defeated San Diego (8-3) by a score of 65-55 on Wednesday night. Oregon started slow on offense in the first half, going through two different stretches of more than three minutes without a field goal. This opened the door for San Diego to build a lead that grew to as much as nine thanks to 10 points from Olin Carter III and an efficient offense that shot 48% from the field in the first half. But after Ehab Amin gave the Ducks a productive six minutes off the bench with five points and three steals (he’d finish with the night with four), the team found a new resolve on defense. Oregon forced San Diego into six turnovers in the final five minutes and translated that disruptive play into a four of five shooting stretch to cut the lead to 32-31 at the break. The Ducks carried that momentum into the second half, hitting its first five shots while the Toreros went just 2-6 and grabbing the lead for the first time since the game’s opening minutes. Oregon struggled to pull away, leading by just four with eight minutes to play after going 2 of its next 12 and relying on San Diego to send them to the line, where the Ducks finished 15-21 as the Toreros struggled with foul trouble. After going nearly five minutes without a field goal, a short run from Oregon extended its lead to eight but San Diego wouldn’t go away by keeping pace with some timely threes. In the end, the Ducks outworked the Toreros on the boards, snagging 11 on the offensive end and bullying their way to 30 points in the paint en route to the win. Oregon has now won consecutive games and will look to match its season high of three-in-a-row on Saturday against Boise State. Listen below to the full game story and postgame interviews.

Game Story (by Alex Castle)

POSTGAME INTERVIEWS

Head Coach Dana Altman

Center Bol Bol and Guard Ehab Amin