How TJ Bamba’s big effort helped Oregon men’s basketball outlast Washington for win

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For the third time this season, Oregon answered a loss with a win.

Not that it came easy.

Led by the guard TJ Bamba’s best performance in two months, the No. 15 Ducks outlasted Washington Tuesday night to win 82-71 in a Big Ten men’s basketball game at Matthew Knight Arena, a victory that came three days after a loss at home to Purdue.

Tuesday’s game included 18 lead changes and eight ties before Oregon (16-3, 5-3 Big Ten) used a 21-11 game-ending run over the final six minutes to pull away from the upset-minded Huskies (10-8, 1-6), who lost for the fifth straight time.

The Ducks, on the other hand, haven’t lost consecutive games all season, a trend they continued Tuesday despite their two top scorers – point guard Jackson Shelstad and center Nate Bittle – combining for just 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting.

Oregon guard Keeshawn Barthelemy celebrates a turnover as the Oregon Ducks host the Washington Huskies Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

Among those picking up the slack was Bamba, who had 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting with three 3-pointers. It was his best outing since scoring a season-high 22 against San Diego State on Nov. 27 in Las Vegas. His eight made field goals were also a season high.

“I’m a confident person and I know who I am, and I just had to get back to that,” said Bamba, who was averaging 9.6 points coming into the game. “My teammates, my coaches, they were encouraging me … telling me, ‘Keep at it, kid, we all know what you’re capable of.’ So, today I’m grateful they put me in a great position for me to succeed.”

Forward Brandon Angel also had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

“TJ and Brandon gave us what I’d been hoping they’d give us all year,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said of the two first-year transfers. “That’s the kind of players they are. Great to see them play that way.”

Forward Supreme Cook came off the bench to score 13, with seven of those points coming from the free-throw line….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tj-bambas-big-effort-helped-155152839.html

Author : The Register-Guard

Publish date : 2025-01-22 15:51:00

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