Written by Yaniv Horenstein
Audio Story by Tal Cohen
EUGENE, Ore. — The Ducks opened conference play against the USC Trojans at Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday. The Ducks are still without key players in N’Faly Dante and Mookie Cook, who do not have clear timetables to return. Luckily, Keeshawn Barthelemy, who had been out the last two games with an ankle injury, returned for the Ducks off the bench.
In the first half, the Ducks played their best basketball of the whole season. Their high quality of play began with excellent defense against USC’s talented roster. In the first half, they held the Trojans to 32% shooting from the field. USC’s highest scorer of the half was DJ Rodman with seven points. They held three potential NBA draft picks in Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis, and Kobe Johnson to a combined seven points on 2-of-14 shooting. Oregon forced USC to commit ten first-half turnovers, while limiting themselves to only three. The Ducks stole the ball six times, doubling USC’s total from the first half.
The Ducks offense started out slowly, but picked up as the half went on. Oregon ended the first half on 45% from the field and knocked down six threes. The scoring was led by Jackson Shelstad who had 12 points at the break, but as usual, the Ducks got contributions from every player. After knocking down back-to-back threes to start the game, Shelstad found a rhythm from his mid-range shot and hit three buckets from the same spot to close the half. The Ducks played the game like they had something to prove, and their execution gave them a 17-point lead going into the break.
USC’s offense woke up in the second half and immediately made it a competitive game. The Trojans hit 21 field goals in the second half, compared to their seven in the first. They came out of the break with a newfound energy that the Ducks did not match at first. However, Kwame Evans Jr. stopped the bleeding a couple times with much-needed buckets and scored 13 second-half points. Kario Oquendo had a good second half as well, scoring 11 points by attacking the rim which continues to be the most lethal part of his game. Oregon maintained control and never gave up the lead. The Ducks finished with an eight-point win, improving to 9-3 on the season, and staying undefeated at home.
The Ducks were led by their two freshman stars. Evans Jr. had his best game of the season and finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and a block, all of which led the team. Offensively, he seemed comfortable all over the floor, finishing inside while also letting it fly from behind the arc. His co-star of the game, Shelstad, finished with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He is the facilitator on offense and has proven he can be a reliable scoring weapon. The future of Oregon basketball is bright.
The Ducks were physical and aggressive for most of the game and did not settle for bad shots. Their attack of the rim got them to the line consistently, and the Ducks took care of business at the stripe, where they have struggled all season. Oregon finished 26-of-32 (81%) from free throws, compared to 10-of-15 by USC. Another area in which the Ducks have struggled at times during the season is three-point shooting. Tonight, they hit eight threes on 20 attempts, including makes by five different players. The consistency from the line and from deep made the difference in the game.
The other difference-maker in this game was the Oregon fans in attendance. MKA was packed and loud, a great sight to see, especially during the holiday break. Dana Altman pointed out how they made a direct impact on the game and gave the Ducks momentum when they needed it the most.
Next up, the Ducks host UCLA on Saturday at 1 PM.