It took a couple of Oregon natives to dispatch the Beavers on this Thursday night in Corvallis.
Nate Bittle led all scorers with 23 points and 14 rebounds and Jackson Shelstad added 15 points as Oregon went up to OSU and captured a 78-75 non-conference win to go to 5-0 on the season.
If the Ducks were honest with themselves, they would have to say the Beavers outplayed them for most of the contest. Bittle was the catalyst for a 20-5 second half run that gave the Ducks their first lead after halftime with less than three minutes to go. Shelstad also hit a trio of threes and a leaping leaner from the baseline with 29 seconds left for the 76-73 lead.
Jadrian Tracey hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to ice the game.
Oregon vs. Oregon State Keys to the Game
- The Beavers killed the Ducks on the boards in the first half to the tune of a 20-13 advantage.
- Points in the paint were going the Beavers’ way also in the early going. They had a 28-16 lead inside the key at halftime.
- Partly because they were down and partly because the Ducks needed to speed the game up, Oregon started to press in the backcourt and it worked somewhat in the first half.
- Everything changed after halftime. Oregon ran the offense through Bittle and he came up big with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the second half alone.
- Oregon also ratched up the defense effort, allowing the Beavers just 28 points after the break.
- The Ducks also shut down Oregon State’s Micheal Rataj in the second half. He had 15 points at halftime and finished with 20 for the night.
Oregon vs. Oregon State Players of the Game
- Nate Bittle: 23 points, 14 rebounds
- Jackson Shelstad: 15 points, 6 assists
- Keeshawn Barthelemy: 10 points
- Jadrian Tracey: 10 poitns, 4 assists
- Michael Rataj (OSU): 20 points
Oregon vs. Oregon State Notable Stats
- Oregon: 30-of-61 FG (49 percent), OSU 25-of-62 FG (40 percent)
- Points in the paint: Oregon 34, OSU 30
- Assists: Oregon 21, OSU 12
What’s Next for Oregon Ducks
- Nov. 26 — vs. Texas A&M Aggies (Las Vegas, Player’s Era Festival)
- Nov. 27 — vs. San Diego State (Las Vegas, Player’s Era Festival)
- Nov. 28 — TBD (Las Vegas, Player’s Era Festival)
- Dec. 5 — at USC
- Dec. 8 — UCLA
Oregon will now get a nice break before heading down to Las Vegas to open the Player’s Era Festival with Texas A&M. It will be a good test for the Ducks as Big Ten play is right around the corner, a road game at USC Dec. 8.
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