Sports

Jan

12

Bushnell WBB Preview | Beacons Host Eastern Oregon and the College of Idaho

By Mario Ponce

EUGENE, Ore. - The Bushnell Beacons women’s basketball team (8-5) will host the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (8-4) and the College of Idaho Yotes (3-11) as they look to continue the good start to their 2024 calendar year. The Beacons have a 2-1 record at the Morse Center this season and look to extend it with two wins.

Eastern Oregon Mountaineers:

The Mountaineers have a better overall record than the Beacons, but the home team has a better record in the Cascade Collegiate Conference at 4-3, while the visitors come with 4-4. Bushnell started the season with three straight losses and then three straight wins, and since has stayed remarkably consistent, never winning or losing more than two in a row. The Mountaineers also have had streaks of three wins and three losses, and like the Beacons, they’re 1-1 since the new year began.

College…

Jan

12

PREVIEW: Oregon Women's Basketball Searches For First Conference Win on Home Floor

By Charles Martindale

Oregon’s start to Pac-12 play has far from gone as planned. Two weeks ago, the Ducks lost by 21 to unranked Oregon State, a tough sign of things to come given their next two games came against No. 2 UCLA and No. 9 USC. A 26-point loss to UCLA last Friday, and the 68-54 outpacing by USC last Sunday has brought prove-it time upon the Ducks as the season approaches mid-January. Oregon hosts unranked Arizona State and Arizona at Mathew Knight Arena today and Sunday, marking the conference play home opener of the season, and the Ducks first home games of 2024. “The road wasn’t too kind to us.”, said head coach Kelly Graves after the roadtrip. In a bit of ironic luck, the Sun Devils, also winless against the Pac-12, are below Oregon in conference play, being the only team the 9-7 Ducks lead. Arizona sits at 11-5, coming off a win over top-20 Utah. The first conference win is bound to come at some point for Oregon, and as Graves added, “...…

Jan

12

PREVIEW: Oregon Women's Basketball Searches For First Conference Win on Home Floor

By Charles Martindale

Oregon’s start to Pac-12 play has far from gone as planned. Two weeks ago, the Ducks lost by 21 to unranked Oregon State, a tough sign of things to come given their next two games came against No. 2 UCLA and No. 9 USC. A 26-point loss to UCLA last Friday, and the 68-54 outpacing by USC last Sunday has brought prove-it time upon the Ducks as the season approaches mid-January. Oregon hosts unranked Arizona State and Arizona at Mathew Knight Arena today and Sunday, marking the conference play home opener of the season, and the Ducks first home games of 2024. “The road wasn’t too kind to us.”, said head coach Kelly Graves after the roadtrip. In a bit of ironic luck, the Sun Devils, also winless against the Pac-12, are below Oregon in conference play, being the only team the 9-7 Ducks lead. Arizona sits at 11-5, coming off a win over top-20 Utah. The first conference win is bound to come at some point for Oregon, and as Graves added, “...…

Jan

12

Bushnell MBB Preview | Mounties and Yotes Come to Town for Busy Weekend Slate

By Ryan Oppenheimer

EUGENE, Ore. — After going 2-0 last weekend, the Bushnell Beacons men's basketball team will try to maintain their home momentum this weekend. They host the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers Friday at 7:30 p.m. before the College of Idaho Yotes visit Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Beacons have started their season off nicely with an 8-5 overall record, going 5-2 in CCC play. It would take a massive drop-off for them to not improve on their 12-19 record from last season. With 14 returning players and a sixth-year head coach in Eddie Alexander, they are benefitting from the experience and chemistry they've built together.

The Beacons have been stuffing the net, scoring 88.5 points per game on 38.8% from deep. They've also been operating on the same page, which is evident in their 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. All three of those numbers are good for No. 1 in the conference. The unselfish, up-tempo style has allowed all four of Stevie Schlabach,…

Jan

12

Bushnell MBB Preview | Mounties and Yotes Come to Town for Busy Weekend Slate

By Ryan Oppenheimer

EUGENE, Ore. — After going 2-0 last weekend, the Bushnell Beacons men's basketball team will try to maintain their home momentum this weekend. They host the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers Friday at 7:30 p.m. before the College of Idaho Yotes visit Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Beacons have started their season off nicely with an 8-5 overall record, going 5-2 in CCC play. It would take a massive drop-off for them to not improve on their 12-19 record from last season. With 14 returning players and a sixth-year head coach in Eddie Alexander, they are benefitting from the experience and chemistry they've built together.

The Beacons have been stuffing the net, scoring 88.5 points per game on 38.8% from deep. They've also been operating on the same page, which is evident in their 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. All three of those numbers are good for No. 1 in the conference. The unselfish, up-tempo style has allowed all four of Stevie Schlabach,…

Jan

12

PREVIEW: Oregon MBB Looks to Stay Perfect in Conference Play Against the Golden Bears

Written by Beck Parsons

EUGENE, Ore -- The PAC-12-leading Oregon Ducks (12-3) will look to protect their perfect home record on Saturday when the California Golden Bears (6-10) come to Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks are riding a five-game winning streak that has seen them rise to 4-0 in conference play. The opposing Golden Bears started conference play with three losses but have rallied with two straight wins. They sit at 6-10 on the season and will hope to upset a cruising Ducks squad that has yet to play this week.

Oregon’s game plan will likely hinge on N’Faly Dante’s injury status. Dante has been out of action for two months while rehabbing from left knee surgery that he received in November. Thankfully for the Ducks, this week marked a return to practice for the star seven-footer from Mali. Dante was named a preseason All-Conference player and was considered by many to be Oregon’s best player before his injury. His return will be well-received by a team…

Jan

12

PREVIEW: Oregon MBB Looks to Stay Perfect in Conference Play Against the Golden Bears

Written by Beck Parsons

EUGENE, Ore -- The PAC-12-leading Oregon Ducks (12-3) will look to protect their perfect home record on Saturday when the California Golden Bears (6-10) come to Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks are riding a five-game winning streak that has seen them rise to 4-0 in conference play. The opposing Golden Bears started conference play with three losses but have rallied with two straight wins. They sit at 6-10 on the season and will hope to upset a cruising Ducks squad that has yet to play this week.

Oregon’s game plan will likely hinge on N’Faly Dante’s injury status. Dante has been out of action for two months while rehabbing from left knee surgery that he received in November. Thankfully for the Ducks, this week marked a return to practice for the star seven-footer from Mali. Dante was named a preseason All-Conference player and was considered by many to be Oregon’s best player before his injury. His return will be well-received by a team…

Jan

11