By Cole Rothman

Tonight the Oregon Ducks faced off against the 1-0 Boise State Broncos. The Ducks pulled out the win in dominant fashion, much to the delight of a somewhat lackluster Saturday night crowd in Matthew Knight Arena. Matthew Knight Arena was packed to the walls for a basketball game, but it was the women in white and green who drew the large crowd as they upset Team USA 93 to 86. Handing the women in red, white and blue their first loss to a college team since 1999. Once the crowd thinned out and the men’s game began, it was clear that the Boise State Broncos were outgunned by the talented Ducks. Boise State brought experience to the table, returning their top 4 scorers from a season ago, but that was about all the Broncos brought to the table. Sparked by the hot shooting hand of Anthony Mathis and the seasoned command of Payton Pritchard, the Ducks cruised out to a 48-30 lead at the half.

The start of the second half brought more of the same for the Ducks and the Broncos. With only 5 minutes gone in the second half, the Ducks had already stretched their lead to 29. Fueled by hot shooting and swarming defense, Oregon pulled away and never looked back. Anthony Mathis led all scorers and set a new career high with 30 points on 9-11 from 3-point-range, and Payton Pritchard handed out 7 dimes. Even without their 2 centers Francis Okoro (car accident injury) and N’Faly Dante (Eligibility) the Ducks were in command from the opening tip to the final whistle. Top recruit N’Faly Dante is still unavailable for 8 more games, but should the absence of sophomore big-man Francis Okoro persist, the Ducks could find themselves at a severe rebounding disadvantage against bigger and longer teams. The Ducks are going to need all hands on deck this Tuesday as they play a vertically gifted and very talented Memphis Tigers squad. That game tips off the first game of the Phil Knight Invitational and begins at 6 p.m. at the Moda Center in downtown Portland.

Audio Story

Dana Altman Post Game Interview

Players: Anthony Mathis and Shakur Juiston Post Game Interviews