EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon pulled away from the Ball State in the second half Sunday for a 95-71 victory as part of the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational.
The Ducks used a 16-0 run late in the first half to take control and then made 9 of their first 11 shots from the floor in the second half to stretch their lead at Matthew Knight Arena.
Junior point guard . . .
The Ducks used a 16-0 run late in the first half to take control and then made 9 of their first 11 shots from the floor in the second half to stretch their lead at Matthew Knight Arena.
Junior point guard . . .
. . . Tayler Persons led Ball State with 14 points, while sophomore forward Kyle Mallers scored 10 – all at the free throw line. All nine players who saw action scored at least six points for the Cardinals, who were playing their third game in five days after a road loss at Oklahoma and a home win over Stony Brook.
“We got rattled a little bit in the second half, no question,” Ball State head coach James Whitford said. “But we were much better tonight (than at Oklahoma). I thought our effort was much better. Oregon is a really good team, and my hat’s off to them for a game well played … When you play teams like this, the things you’re not good at get really exposed.”
Ball State (1-3) led 29-24 with 6:29 to play in the first half. The Cardinals were riding an 8-0 run after back-to-back 3-pointers from Francis Kiapway and Sean Sellers followed by a Tahjai Teague steal and lay-in.
But Oregon (4-0) responded by scoring the next 16 points. Payton Pritchard hit two of Oregon’s three 3-pointers during that stretch, and the Ducks went on to hold a 42-33 advantage at the half. The break did not stop Oregon’s momentum. The Ducks opened the second half on a 14-2 run to extend their lead.
Pritchard scored a game-high 20 points to pace five players in double figures for Oregon, a program that reached the Final Four a season ago. The point guard finished 7 of 11 from the floor and 4 of 5 from deep. Elijah Brown had 17 points.
Oregon shot 49.2 percent for the game and hit 10 of 25 from 3-point range. The Cardinals were able to generate good looks throughout the evening but finished at 37.5 percent overall and 7 of 27 from beyond the arc.
“We haven’t really had a great shooting night yet, which is fine; that always comes and goes,” Whitford said. “But I thought that was part of it. Even at halftime, I told our guys, we were two front-ends of a one-and-one away from it being a five-point game.”
Ball State was able to get to the free throw line for the second straight game and knocked down 22 of 29 foul shots. Freshman point guard Ishmael El-Amin was another bright spot, scoring nine points and handing out four assists without a turnover.
Ball State’s busy stretch continues Wednesday as the Cardinals visit Bucknell for a 7 p.m. tip in the middle game of a three-game road stretch.
Ball State (1-3) led 29-24 with 6:29 to play in the first half. The Cardinals were riding an 8-0 run after back-to-back 3-pointers from Francis Kiapway and Sean Sellers followed by a Tahjai Teague steal and lay-in.
But Oregon (4-0) responded by scoring the next 16 points. Payton Pritchard hit two of Oregon’s three 3-pointers during that stretch, and the Ducks went on to hold a 42-33 advantage at the half. The break did not stop Oregon’s momentum. The Ducks opened the second half on a 14-2 run to extend their lead.
Pritchard scored a game-high 20 points to pace five players in double figures for Oregon, a program that reached the Final Four a season ago. The point guard finished 7 of 11 from the floor and 4 of 5 from deep. Elijah Brown had 17 points.
Oregon shot 49.2 percent for the game and hit 10 of 25 from 3-point range. The Cardinals were able to generate good looks throughout the evening but finished at 37.5 percent overall and 7 of 27 from beyond the arc.
“We haven’t really had a great shooting night yet, which is fine; that always comes and goes,” Whitford said. “But I thought that was part of it. Even at halftime, I told our guys, we were two front-ends of a one-and-one away from it being a five-point game.”
Ball State was able to get to the free throw line for the second straight game and knocked down 22 of 29 foul shots. Freshman point guard Ishmael El-Amin was another bright spot, scoring nine points and handing out four assists without a turnover.
Ball State’s busy stretch continues Wednesday as the Cardinals visit Bucknell for a 7 p.m. tip in the middle game of a three-game road stretch.
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