With only two games to go before conference play, the Ducks rode a hot shooting night to a big win over a solid Montana team.

Story: Austin Ota

It would be fair to say that the Ducks needed a night like tonight, as they rode their best shooting night of the season to their biggest win so far. With that said, the night began on a slightly worrisome note for Oregon, as Montana guard Robby Beasley pulled up from long range and drilled his first three pointer, followed by Lonnell Martin receiving the feed from Cameron Parker and hitting the Grizzlies second consecutive three. On the offensive end, Oregon attempted to run their offense early through their clear size advantage. In starting 6’11” junior N’Faly Dante, the Ducks committed early to feeding the post and allowing the offense to work around it. However, Dante at times seemed lost down low and was unable to escape the instant double teaming of the two Montana forwards, Josh Bannan and Mack Anderson. Oregon’s scoring night began with Will Richardson, who scored the first two of a game-high 18 with a pull-up midrange jumper over the Montana defender. After trading baskets for the first five minutes of the game, Oregon began an 11-0 run, which hit its high point after two straight and-one layups by the recently struggling Jacob Young. For most of the first half, the Oregon offense looked unstoppable, as they at one point converted on twelve straight field goal attempts, finishing the first half shooting 63 percent from the field, and 50 percent from long range. The first half was highlighted by the scoring duo of both the aforementioned Richardson and transfer guard De’Vion Harmon, both who finished with eleven first half points. 

Oregon continued their offensive outburst in the second half, but this time, did it by spreading the wealth. Though they scored 41 second half points, no individual scorer had more than seven points, and eleven of the twelve players to appear contributed to the score. With the large halftime advantage, Coach Dana Altman decided to give large minutes to some younger contributors. The biggest of these moments came from freshmen centers Nate Bittle (2 PTS, 5 REB, 5 BLK) and Isaac Johnson (6 PTS, 2 REB). The twin towers shared the floor for long stretches of time during the second half and seemed to shut down any hope the Grizzlies had of scoring inside. As mentioned earlier, Jacob Young overcame a cold start to the season to finish the night leading the Oregon bench in three major statistical categories, with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. After beginning the season in the starting lineup, Young is starting to show both Duck fans and the coaching staff that he belongs in the rotation for where this team is headed. The Oregon defense was stifling all night, holding the Grizzlies to just 26.1 percent shooting from the field, including allowing zero made field goals in the last 4:24.

Coach Altman and his Ducks will look to continue this momentum on Wednesday night as the UC Riverside Highlanders visit Matthew Night Arena. The Highlanders are an extremely competitive team who have already taken down a PAC-12 opponent this season. With that said, Oregon will look to continue their momentum and extend the short winning streak.