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Joseph Young scored 12 of his 14 in the second half and Mike Moser led all scorer s with 19 as Oregon came out strong in the second half to defeat the Pacific Tigers. Oregon trailed by double digits early but a strong defensive effort in the second half lead held the Tigers in check en route to an 85-62 Oregon win.
The Ducks had 4 scorers in double figures and Johnny Loyd had a career high 13 assists in the win. Both T.J. Wallace and Trevin Harris had 14 for the Tigers in a losing effort.
In the first game of the GS Hardwood Classic, the Ducks hosted the Pacific Tigers. The Tigers would present Oregon's stiffest challenge at home this season as they boasted 5 senior starters and four players who average double figures in points per game.
Oregon produced one of the sloppier halves this season as Pacific started the game on a 13-3 run. The Ducks got crushed on the boards in the first half at a 25-15 difference as Pacific's front line out-muscled the likes of Elgin Cook and Waverly Austin. Because of 9 offensive rebounds, the Tigers had 11 second chance points which aided in their lead at the half.
The Tigers would keep the struggling Ducks below 40% from the field and the self-inflicted wounds would continue as Oregon missed 5 of 11 free throws in the first half. Despite the poor showing, the Ducks only trailed by 7 at 36-29 going into the break.
Oregon came out firing in the second half as they opened with a 23-0 run to give the Ducks a 45-36 lead. Part of that was a wild sequence that saw Jospeh Young make a driving shot, get intentionally fouled, make both free throws and then a three pointer giving the Ducks 7 points in what amounted to one possession.
The Ducks defense turned up the pressure as they held Pacific scoreless for the first 6:31 of the second half. Pacific wouldn't score a field goal until the 12:40 mark of the second half. Once the Ducks took the lead, they would not relinquish it as a much more concerted defensive effort stunted the senior laden Tigers.
The primary concern is Oregon not starting off well. Once the Ducks get into the conference season, they may not be able to shoot their way out of deficits as they have been able to do early in the season. They play the next game of the invitational tomorrow against North Dakota and it will be interesting to see if the Ducks can grow and learn from their rash of slow starts.