Written Story
by: Yaniv Horenstein
Oregon men’s basketball took on the Montana Grizzlies in their home opener in
Matthew Knight Arena on Friday night. The Ducks were without their star center,
N’Faly Dante, who sat out with a sore hamstring that he suffered against Georgia in the
season opener. Don’t worry too much though, as Dante was doing drills with his
teammates in shoot-around. True freshman Kwame Evans Jr got his first start for Dana
Altman, in Dante’s place. The Ducks were also missing starter, Jesse Zarzuela, the guard transfer from Central Michigan. Replacing him in the opening lineup was Brennan
Rigsby, who had an excellent season opener in which he scored a team-high 16 points.
The Ducks started slow against the Grizzlies, getting behind 9-2 before eventually going on a 8-0 run, and getting themselves back into the game. Altman tested out different lineups with early substitutions, bringing in Kario Oquendo, Mahamadou Diawara, and Jadrian Tracey within the first 5 minutes of play.
The game stayed very close in the first half. The Ducks were unable to find a scoring
rhythm early. Oregon had some trouble inside the paint, only converting on 5 of 16
layup attempts. Unfortunately, Oregon also had first half trouble behind the arc,
shooting 25% from deep. Points were spread out, with no Duck scoring in double digits.
Oregon displayed their hustle by crashing the glass, getting 9 offensive boards in the
first half, leading to 7 second-chance points.
The second half started off as a battle, with each team trading baskets. Around the 10
minute mark, the Ducks slowly started gaining more control. On defense, they were
getting stops, holding the Grizzlies to 2 field goals in the last 11 minutes of the game. On offense, the 3-point shots were finally starting to fall, and the Ducks finished the ball
game with 7 threes on 30% shooting behind the arc. Brennan Rigsby was the lead
3-point shooter for the second game in a row, and knocked down 3 of 4 attempts, all
coming in the 2nd half. The Ducks ended the game on a 25-11 run, securing a 14-point win over the Grizzlies; 75-61. Nate Bittle showed his dominance in the paint on both ends of the floor. Bittle scored on 4 of his 7 field goals in the second half, and finished with a team-high 17 points. On the defensive end, Bittle had 4 of the team's 5 total blocks.
He is looking to become a leader for Dana Altman’s squad this year, and with Oregon’s persistent injuries, he will be a crucial part of making it back into the NCAA tournament in March. The Ducks had serious trouble at the free-throw line, shooting 16-of-28, after an ugly 14-of-29 in the game against Georgia. Free points must be taken advantage of when the Ducks face tougher opponents later in the season. However, the Ducks showed their focus and discipline in other ways, finishing the game with only 2 turnovers, and 0 in the 2nd half.
Audio Story
By: Jasmine Saboorian