Kwame Evans Jr. led a balanced attack with 13 points, seven teammates added seven or more and 10th-ranked Oregon steamrolled Stanford 76-61 in the opener of the San Jose Tip-Off men’s basketball event Saturday night.
No. 23 San Diego State beat Cal 71-50 in the nightcap of the nonconference doubleheader.
Facing a longtime Pacific-12 Conference foe for the first time since leaving for the Big Ten, Oregon (11-1) broke away from an 11-9 deficit in the game’s eighth minute with equal parts adequate offense and suffocating defense.
Nate Bittle’s layup gave Oregon the lead for good with 11:49 left, after which the deep Ducks showed their strength in numbers. Evans, Bittle, Jadrian Tracy, Keeshawn Barthelemy, Brandon Angel, Ra’Heim Moss, TJ Bamba and Supreme Cook contributed scoring to a 27-8 half-finishing run that put Oregon in control at 36-19.
After losing its lead, Stanford (9-3) finished the half with just three baskets in its last 16 attempts, mixing in five turnovers.
Stanford’s Aidan Cammann opened the second half with a 3-pointer to close the gap to 14, but Tracey and Evans dropped in two free throws apiece sandwiching a Jackson Shelstad jumper as the Ducks opened a 20-point advantage and never looked back.
Evans recorded all but three of his points came at the foul line, making 10 of 12. Oregon enjoyed a 22-7 advantage in free throw points.
Shelstad was the only other Duck scoring in double figures with 10. He made five of his 10 shots as Oregon hit at a 43.6 percent rate but was just 6 of 22 from behind the arc.
Bittle and Bamba finished with nine points apiece, Cook and Barthelemy eight each, and Angel and Tracey seven apiece for the Ducks, who have won two in a row since their lone loss to UCLA on Dec. 8. Bittle had a team-high nine rebounds, while Bamba grabbed eight.
Stanford star Maxime Raynaud was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. He also found time for a game-high 13 rebounds to complete a nation-leading 10th double-double.
Raynaud made 8 of 14 shots, but got little support from his teammates, who went a combined 15-for-48. Benny Gealer, who made 4 of 6 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, added 10 off the Stanford bench.
The Cardinal, who had won three straight, shot 37.1 percent overall and 26.7 percent (8 of 30) on 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
