Oregon Defeats Rider, Advances to NIT Second Round

The Oregon Ducks rallied in the third quarter to knock off the Rider Broncs, 99-86, at Matthew Knight Arena in the opening round of the NIT Tournament. Oregon shot 59 percent from the floor and 77 percent in the second half to put away Rider.

New rules came into play with the NIT Tournament as the NCAA is experimenting with changes to the college basketball game. One noticeable difference was four quarters, lasting ten minutes in length.

On the court, the three-point line got pushed back one foot, eight inches, bringing the line to international play. For the Ducks, shooting behind the line did not appear difficult, going 14 of 25. Victor Bailey Jr. found success, hitting eight three-pointers, and finishing with a career-high 23 points.

Payton Pritchard added 23 points, and Elijah Brown chipped in 18 points. Kenny Wooten had 12 points and three blocks on the night.

In potentially his last game at home as a Duck, Troy Brown finished with seven points and three steals. Brown may likely declare for the NBA Draft, being the first one-and-done freshman under coach Dana Altman.

Dimencio Vaughn led the Broncs with 25 points. Tyere Marshall and Jordan Allen had 18 and 17 points, respectively. The Broncs led the Ducks, 44-36, at halftime. Rider led by as much as 12 points in the third quarter until an 11-0 run by Oregon became the turning point.

Pritchard made a layup to give Oregon a 57-56 lead in the third, the first lead since taking an early 3-2 lead in the opening frame.

Oregon plays the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between Harvard-Marquette.