By: AJ Untermeyer and Spencer Orofino
On a cold Thursday night in Eugene, the Oregon Ducks took on the #3 ranked Arizona Wildcats in front of 9,455 fans.
The Cats may have boasted an undefeated (14-0) record and a 4-national ranking, but the Ducks were off to their best start in the history of Matthew Knight Arena.
With a 10-0 record this season in front of their home crowd at Matt Knight Arena, the Ducks were determined to keep the winning streak in tact.
Arizona’s Mark Lyons all scorers with 21 points, but a balanced Ducks offense with 4 players scoring in the double digits, and a team total of 17 assists led Oregon to a 70-66 win.
Arizona started the game off with a dominate 11-0 run. Oregon’s Carlos Emory broke that streak, and put the Ducks on the board with 5 straight points.
Oregon would follow with 8 unanswered points that started off a 16-4 run that would give them their first lead of the game with 13:51 left in the first half.
After trading points throughout the half, a combination of Oregon’s defensive efforts with 6 steals, and Arizona’s 7 turnovers sparked new life for the Duck’s offense helping them leave for the half with a 41-30 lead over the Wildcats.
The Duck’s started the second half with a three-pointer from Damyean Dotson propelling them to a 14 point lead, their largest of the game.
Oregon upheld their strong performance, led by E.J. Singler who led the team with 14 points, by holding at least a ten point lead for most of the second half.
Singler surpassed Maarty Luenen and Terrell Brandon to move to 17th on the all-time score list at Oregon.
The Duck’s continued their offensive strike in the second half shooting 80% from the three-point line and 82% from the free throw line.
Arizona found themselves trailing by just 3 in the final minute of the game. With 9-seconds left Oregon’s Jonathan Loyd nabbed a steal, was fouled, and sunk a free-throw making it a two score game.
With a missed shot by the Wildcats, and a rebound by the game’s M.V.P. Singler, the final seconds ticked off the clock.
An electrified student section rushed the court as the Ducks took down Arizona in what is considered the biggest game in Matthew Knight Arena’s young history.
Coach Dana Altman contributes the win to an increase in energy and change in atmosphere provided by the students; “The energy in the building, it inspires teams to play well and our students did that for us tonight.”
Despite a huge victory, the Oregon Duck’s are keeping their eyes forward on what lays ahead, especially standout senior E.J. Singler. “It’s just the start of our season. It’s not the highpoint we still have a lot of season left to play.”
The Duck’s improve to 13-2 with a 2-0 record in conference, while Arizona falls to 14-1. Oregon will take on Arizona State at home on Sunday at 6p.
AJ Untermeyer reports from Matthew Knight Arena
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