Oregon Ducks Hold Off Texas Southern Tigers

Kenny Wooten stood out for the Oregon Ducks (7-3) after an uninspiring performance to fend off the Texas Southern Tigers (0-9), 74-68.

Coach Dana Altman hoped his young Ducks would build off a high-performance last week. Instead, the Tigers gave the Ducks a fight until the end. Texas Southern did everything in efforts to provide coach Mike Davis, his 100th victory with the team.

Oregon struggled to find their shooting rhythm, resulting in cold spells which allowed Texas Southern to stay in the game. The score going into halftime had the Ducks holding a 32-31 edge on the Tigers.

But Wooten got the Ducks going in the second half, sparking a 16-2 run to build a 15-point lead. The Tigers, however, would not go away and began chipping away. With under four minutes to play, the Tigers trailed 65-64, but layups by Payton Pritchard and Paul White gave a little relief.

White would ice the game for Oregon with a three-pointer to prevent any comeback attempt.

Wooten provided the difference thanks to his big performance after halftime. The freshman finished with 13 points and four blocks.

Pritchard finished with 16 points to lead the Ducks in scoring. Six players from Oregon scored in double figures with freshman, Troy Brown, recording another double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds).

Donte Clark and Demontrae Jefferson finished with 17 points and 16 points, respectively for Texas Southern. The Tigers put up a good fight but did not get enough from their bench players. Oregon held a 27-14 advantage on points from the bench.

Overall, a lackluster display at Matthew Knight Arena for Oregon as the team is still piecing together consistency. Coach Altman yet has his work cut out for the Ducks before the start of conference play.

Oregon will have Tuesday off before returning to action Wednesday night at home against Portland State. Tipoff begins at 7:00 p.m. with a telecast on Pac-12 Network.