Reserve guard Kario Oquendo led a balanced attack with a season-best 20 points and Oregon completed an unbeaten homestand with a third straight win, turning back California Baptist 76-55 on Tuesday in a nonconference game at Eugene, Ore.
Jackson Shelstad complemented a game-high eight assists with 17 points, Brennan Rigsby turned three 3-pointers into a majority of his 11, Jadrian Tracey came off the bench for 10 and Kwame Evans Jr. added nine points for the Ducks (7-2), who ran their home record to 5-0 this season.
Dominique Daniels Jr. had a team-high 13 points and Hunter Goodrick put up 10 points for the Lancers (6-3), who lost their second straight after a 6-1 start.
Seeking to bounce back from a 72-69 home loss to Utah Tech on Dec. 6, California Baptist played Oregon evenly for almost 15 minutes, with Blondeau Tchoukuiegno’s layup at the 5:26 mark of the first half creating a 23-all tie.
Oregon went on to lead 36-31 at the break before dominating the second half. The Ducks got a 3-pointer from Rigsby and a short-range jumper from Shelstad to quickly double their advantage and create the game’s first double-digit margin early in the second period.
Warming up for a neutral-site showdown with Syracuse on Sunday in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Ducks gradually pulled away, going up by as many as 22 before the night’s end.
Oquendo, a transfer from Georgia, hit seven of his 12 shots to better the 17 points he had in a loss to Alabama last month. He had 14 20-plus-point games in his two-year Georgia career, once going for 33 at Texas A&M.
Rigsby’s three 3-pointers came on four attempts for Oregon, which shot 9-for-18 from beyond the arc and outscored the visitors 27-9 on threes.
Jermaine Couisnard was the Ducks’ leading rebounder with a game-high-tying eight to complement five points.
Goodrick was the Lancers’ leading rebounder with eight, while Tchoukuiegno had a team-high two assists to go with eight points.
Yvan Ouedraogo added nine points and Brantly Stevenson seven for California Baptist, a Western Athletic Conference program that was playing just its second true road game of the season.
–Field Level Media
