By: Sam Greenville & Cole Rothman

This evening, Oregon Men’s Basketball took on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The Ducks, coming off a two-game losing slide, continued the form they had all tournament long at The Battle For Atlantis. In the first half, Oregon forced the Rainbow Warriors to work deep into the shot clock and take contested 3-pointers. Much to their credit, Hawaii was able to knock down a lot of those contested shots. Hawaii shot 47% from deep in the first half, thanks largely in part to Eddie Stansberry. Stansberry finished the half with 14 points on 5-9 from the field and consistently bailed the Rainbow Warriors out of poor possessions late in the shot clock. The Rainbow Warriors played well in the first half and were able to go into the locker room tied 34-34 at the break. 

The Ducks started the night slow and it seemed like they were in for a close game from whistle to whistle. Dana Altman had other plans. The Ducks came out of halftime with a newfound sense of urgency and effort on both ends. The Ducks got hot in a big way on the offensive end and really locked down on defense. Oregon opened the second half with a 18-1 run and after that it was smooth sailing. The Ducks lead never dipped below 13 and the Ducks were able to clear the bench late. Payton Pritchard finished 20 pts and 11 assists, his first double-double of the year. Oregon finished with 5 scorers in double figures and CJ Walker had his best game of the season. Walker finished with 18 points on 8-10 from the floor and seemed to be more in control tonight. If the Ducks can get steady production out him going forward, that could add a whole other dimension to this already efficient offense. 

The Ducks are going to need all the production next Saturday as they travel to Ann Arbor take on No.4 Michigan.

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