Undefeated Oregon men’s basketball needs another rally to beat USC and keep perfect record

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Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad (3) and Southern California forward Terrance Williams II (5) react in the second half at Galen Center in Los Angeles. Shelstad had 24 points to lead the Ducks to a win.

For the ninth time in as many games this season, the No. 10 Oregon men’s basketball team came out on the winning end.

For the fourth time, it took a rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half to keep the Ducks undefeated.

Jackson Shelstad had a career-high 24 points and Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 18 as Oregon opened Big Ten Conference play with a 68-60 win against Southern California on Wednesday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Shelstad scored 21 in the second half and 16 in the final 8 minutes, 40 seconds as the Ducks (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) dug their way out of a 10-point hole (38-28) with 14:44 to go.

Twelve of Shelstad’s points came from the free-throw line.

Barthelemy was 4 for 5 from the 3-point line, including a score-tying deep ball with 4:37 to play to make it 55-55. After a steal by Brandon Angel, Shelstad made a 3 in transition to put Oregon up 58-55 with 4:10 remaining and the Ducks led the rest of the way as they closed out the game on a 17-5 run.

“It was a good second half and we found a way to win,” coach Dana Altman said during his postgame radio interview on KUJZ-FM (95.3). “That’s a great quality to have, but what does a cat have? Nine lives, right? We used probably three or four of them already this season. A little worried about that. It’s gonna catch up to us if we don’t start playing better.”

It was rough night for Oregon’s top two scorers. Center Nate Bittle, who was averaging 14.6 points at the start of the game, scored five on 2-of-5 shooting before fouling out with 2:30 to play.

Guard TJ Bamba, who was averaging 13.0 points, scored six on 2-of-13 shooting. He was scoreless and 0 for 11 from the field until sinking a 3-pointer with 8:00 to play.

Oregon trailed 30-23 at halftime – tying its lowest point total in the first half this…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/undefeated-oregon-mens-basketball-needs-120545503.html

Author : The Register-Guard

Publish date : 2024-12-05 12:05:00

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