At tip-off, the Oregon Ducks had no business losing to the Portland Pilots, but with five minutes to go in the second half, Oregon had no business winning. They found a way to win anyway.
With 8:11 on the second half clock, Oregon trailed 54-41. The Ducks were not shooting well, and defense was way too much of a struggle. But then, Keeshawn Barthelemy, who had played poorly to that point, started to hit some shots, and after that, he couldn’t miss.
Still, in the game’s final moments, Dana Altman’s Ducks’ looked like they had no chance. They waited too long to wake up. But when Oregon got the ball back, down 67-62 with under a minute to play, Barthelemy laced a quick three to pull the Ducks within two — 30 seconds to play.
Oregon forced a stop, and Jackson Shelstad streaked up the court, quickly forcing a shot — something we saw all too often from him tonight. Somehow, Barthelemy grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it to Jadrian Tracey. With under ten seconds to go, Tracey finished at the rim, tying the game. Portland couldn’t score and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, the Ducks had all the momentum, and they quickly started to pull away. It wasn’t until there was less than a minute to go that Portland scored their first overtime points, leading to an 80-70 Oregon victory.
Just a frisky Tuesday night win.
Oregon vs. Portland Keys to the Game
- Oregon was abysmal shooting for most of the night. The Ducks finished with 28/69 FGs made and 7/31 from three, and Oregon didn’t hit its first second-half three until the 16-minute mark in the period. The Ducks got much more efficient down the stretch, which boosted those numbers.
- Forced shots were a big reason for the Ducks’ low shooting splits. In addition to contested threes, Oregon was forcing well-guarded shots after offensive rebounds, leading to just five second-chance points in the game.
- Down the stretch in the second half, Portland heated up from the three-point line. With under six minutes the Pilots, shot three-for-four from deep, and each make seemed to slow the Ducks’ momentum.
- The Pilots were outrebounding the Ducks for most of the game, but in the final minutes, Oregon started cleaning the glass. That’s when the Ducks started to crawl back into the game.
- For too much of the game, Oregon didn’t have nearly enough defensive intensity. But in the final minutes of the second half, and especially in overtime, Oregon’s defense was much tighter.
Oregon vs. Portland Players of the Game
- Keeshawn Barthelemy: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 5/10 FGs, 3/7 3Ps
- Bam Tracey: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 8/11 FGs, 4 steals
- Jackson Shelstad: 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 5/19 FGs, 3 steals
- Nate Bittle: 13 points points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/7 FGs, 1 block
Oregon vs. Portland Notable Stats
- Oregon’s shooting splits against Portland were not awesome. Forty-one percent from the field and 23% from three won’t win many games this year, but don’t expect the Ducks to shoot this poorly often.
- After trailing for much of the game, Oregon won the rebound battle 45-37, grabbing 11 of the final 14 rebounds.
- Oregon shot just two free throws in the first half, making one. In the second half and overtime, the Ducks shot 16/21 from the line, which was a big key to their comeback.
- Oregon had 16 fastbreak points and 17 points off of turnovers, signaling the Ducks’ struggle to score off of turnovers from a halfcourt offense.
- The Ducks closed the second half seven for their last eight from the field. In overtime, they were 3/6.
What’s Next for Oregon Ducks?
- Nov. 17 — vs. Troy Trojans
- Nov. 22 — at Oregon State Beavers
- Nov. 26 — vs. No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies (Las Vegas, Player’s Era Festival)
- Nov. 27 — at San Diego State Aztecs
- Nov. 30 — at No. 14 Creighton Blue Jays
The Ducks have a few softball games to go before heading to Las Vegas for the Players Era festival. From that point, Oregon will play three games in five days, two of which are against current Top 25 teams. Who said non-conference season couldn’t be spicy?
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