Winning comfortably for the second time in this tournament, the UO men led from midway through the first half to the end of a 68-54 victory Sunday over Central Florida before 3,019 fans in Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks earned another home game in the NIT quarterfinals, against Wisconsin on Tuesday.
“Some people I know, their seasons already ended,” UO freshman Kel’el Ware said. “I’m just happy to keep hooping, working on my craft in practice and in the games.”
In a tournament that often seems to be decided by which team is most motivated, the Ducks have made clear their intention to play as long as possible. Nate Bittle has helped see to that by setting a career high in scoring both games, including 21 points plus 13 rebounds on Sunday.
Ware added 11 points as the UO big men had their way in the paint, and Quincy Guerrier complemented them with a trio of three-pointers on his way to 17 points. Keeshawn Barthelemy added nine points with eight assists, and Rivaldo Soares had eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
“I’ve just been waiting for this opportunity,” Bittle said. “And now that we’ve been able to get me at the ‘five’ a little bit more, I think I’m more comfortable there. But you know, I’m just happy to be playing, honestly. That’s all. I just want to keep playing. I don’t want my season to end.”
How It Happened: On a night the Ducks held UCF to 30.8 percent shooting, the visitors missed their first eight shots as Oregon took an early lead at 5-2. The Knights got hot with four straight baskets to take a 12-9 lead, and capped an 8-0 run with a three-pointer to go up 15-9. But the Ducks answered with their own 8-0 run, which included three buckets from Barthelemy and a shot-clock-beating corner jump shot by Soares.
UCF ended that UO run with a three-pointer to go back up 18-17, but Bittle answered with a three and then laid in a pass from Barthelemy, and the Ducks never trailed again. A thunderous tomahawk slam by Ware put Oregon up 26-22, and the Ducks scored the final seven points of the first half to lead 33-24 at the break.
“They really couldn’t guard us in the paint,” Ware said. “All we had to do is just be physical, and once we got physical with them they couldn’t stop us down there. All it was was fouls and getting to the free-throw line after that.”
The momentum from the run late in the first half…
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