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Eugene, OR – The Oregon Ducks, looking to extend their winning streak to six games, took on an Indiana squad looking to cement an NCAA Tournament bid with a win. The game was close throughout until Oregon scored the last ten points of the game to come away with aa 73-64 win. Jackson Shelstad made a long three-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give Oregon a late 66-64 lead and the Ducks ran away from there. Shelstad led Oregon with 17 points while Nate Bittle added 14 points (8-of-8 FT’s), seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks.
In quite a few games this year the Ducks have gotten off to a poor start. In their last game against USC, the Trojans took an early 15-4 lead. Tonight, Oregon was crisp on offense from the start, making over 50% of the field goal attempts and half their three-point attempts after the first 12 minutes of play. They kept a small lead through most of the first half, leading 25-19 at the under-12 time out. Indiana helped by two three-pointers from Kanaan Carlyle, then went on a 13-2 run to take a 32-30 lead. The Ducks came right back and took the lead on a three-pointer from Kwame Evans Jr. Oregon went into halftime with a 35-32 lead.
Evans Jr. played the best for Oregon in the half, finishing with eight points (2-of-3 3’s) and four rebounds in ten minutes of action. Bittle also scored eight for the Ducks. Oregon cooled off after a solid shooting start, making only two of their last ten three-point attempts to finish the half at 5-of-16. Indiana shot only 3-of-10 from deep and gave up some points at the free throw line, hitting only 1-of-5.
Indiana came out hot in the second half converting on their first four of five 3’s to take a 50-47 lead. The Hoosiers’ three-point shooting and offensive rebounding helped them retain a small lead at 59-57 at the under-8 time out. At that point the Ducks were 0-of-6 on 3’s in the half. The teams were tied at 61 at the under-4 time out with Oregon 0-of-8 from deep at that point. A three-pointer from Trey Galloway gave Indiana a 64-63 lead with 1:57 remaining.
Shelstad then hit their first three-pointer of the half, a 30-footer at the end of the shot clock to give the Ducks a two-point lead. Bittle then came up with a steal, was fouled, and made both free throws to give Oregon a 68-64 lead. Oregon kept Indiana scoreless for the rest of the contest.
The Ducks had a +7 rebounding edge and won despite shooting only 6-of-25 from deep. Trey Galloway led the Hoosiers with 16 points. Indiana shot 9-of-25 from deep, 6-of-15 in the second half.
Oregon (21-8, 11-8) will finish their regular season on the road against Washington on Sunday at Noon local time. Indiana (18-12, 9-10) will finish their regular season at home against Ohio State, an important game in deciding whether they will get an NCAA Tournament berth.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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