It was a block party at Matthew Knight Arena in the first half and Kenny Wooten Jr. and the Ducks were hosting.

Rim-protection and defense carried Oregon’s sloppy play through the first half against the Green Bay Phoenix, Tuesday night. An 8-0 run early in the first accompanied by 6 blocks by the end of the half helped prevent the Ducks from literally turning-over the game to the Phoenix. The 13 turnovers almost cost Oregon their second loss of the season in a game where a dominant overall performance should have been expected.

Green Bay was able to claw their way back into the game, time and time again, however. The Phoenix managed to close a 15 point, 58-43 lead with 11:40 remaining, to a 5 point contest with 5:01 to go. Fortunately the Ducks, or more so Payton Pritchard, found their stroke from deep in the second half hitting 4-10 triples to extend the lead and close out Tuesday night’s contest.

Oregon

*Payton Pritchard: (38 MIN) 18 PTS / 6 REB / 5 AST

*Bol Bol: (33 MIN) 21 PTS / 9 REB / 1 BLK

*Kenny Wooten Jr.: (29 MIN) 8 PTS / 6 REB / 1 AST / 4 BLK

*Ehab Amin: (20 MIN) 4 PTS / 3 REB / 2 AST

*Paul White: (30 MIN) 10 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST

Victor Bailey Jr: (14 MIN) 3 PTS / 5 REB

Will Richardson: (22 MIN) 10 PTS / 2 REB / 2 AST

Abu Kigab: (12 MIN) 9 PTS / 4 REB

Fancis Okoro: (2 MIN) 0 PTS / 1 REB

Green Bay

*Manny Patterson: (23 MIN) 6 PTS / 9 REB / 1 AST

*Shanquan Hemphill: (29 MIN) 10 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST

*Sandy Cohen III: (37 MIN) 18 PTS / 4 REB / 6 AST

*Jevon Smith: (19 MIN) 8 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST

*PJ Pipes: (16 MIN) 5 PTS / 1 AST / 5 PF

Kameron Hankerson: (21 MIN) 8 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST

JayQuan McCloud: (25 MIN) 10 PTS / 1 REB

Cody Shwartz: (25 MIN) 5 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST

Josh McNair: (2 MIN) 2 PTS / 3 PF

Take-aways from Tuesday’s game:

• The turnovers are troublesome early on, but this is a young team with very few games under there belt. No reason to hit the panic button quit yet.
• Oregon’s offense struggled sporadically to put up points and the chemistry still needs to build between the upperclassman and the star-studded freshman class.
• Altman’s Defense looks more impressive at times than the offense.

• Wooten Jr. is an anchor on defense and a monster in transition. Possibly one of the most athletic players in not only the Pac-12, but the NCAA.
• Pritchard and Kigab were second-half heroes for the Ducks offensively.
• The inability to “put the nail in the coffin” and close out games is a little worrisome. The Ducks need to find a closer. Can Bol be the guy?
• Bol continues to impress with his NBA range and his athletic ability.

• Altman’s giving Pritchard heavy minutes. With the rise of Richardson’s playing-time, Pritchard may be able to get some well deserved rest towards the latter half of the season, come tournament time.
• Okoro entered the game early, but played very little. It’ll be interesting to see how Altman plans to use the Nigerian born big-man throughout the season.
• Louis King could take this team over the top.

Oregon advances to 4-1 with the win putting a close to the 2K Empire classic. Next on the docket is (1-4) Texas Southern, Monday. According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index the Ducks have a 91.7% chance to win.

Follow Colt Johnson on Twitter @Barefoot_Sensei