The Oregon Ducks (3-1) defeated the Florida A&M Rattlers (0-3) by a score of 87 to 66 to extend their winning streak at Matt Knight Arena to 24 games.

Dana Altman and the Ducks earned the victory tonight, but more importantly, the team recorded some much-needed live-game reps before jumping into PAC-12 play on the road against washington this Saturday.

Eastern Washington and Florida A&M were added to Oregon’s schedule just a few days ago, which proved to be a wise decision because they both tested the Ducks in games that ultimately ended in blowouts for the home team.

Chris Duarte atoned for his game against EWU, in which he scored just three points, by finishing the game leading all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 from downtown.

After three lackluster performances to start the season, N’Faly Dante looked much improved, albeit against an undersized Florida A&M squad. Still, the sophomore center was perfect from the floor (10-of-10) and hit both of his free throws to finish with 22 point, five rebounds and two steals in just 18 minutes. Outside of fouling out late in the game, the former five-star recruit had a very solid night, doubling his previous career high of 11.

The Rattlers raced out to a 4-0 start, but a triple from Chandler Lawson (who finished with eight points, two assists, two blocks and a steal) gave Oregon a one-point lead. Florida A&M did a valiant job early keeping up with the Ducks by capitalizing off of their mistakes, but at the 12:52 mark in the opening half Duarte drained a triple that gave Oregon a lead that they would not surrender for the remainder of the game.

Eric Williams Jr. hit double digits for the fourth game in a row and helped close out the opening half by knocking in six of his 11 points in the final seven minutes. He also had an especially crafty play where he stole the inbound pass and slammed it in for the quick score in the second half.

Eugene Omoruyi wasn’t able to maintain his red-hot start, however, he still managed to finish with 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting to become Oregon’s fourth player with double-digit scoring on the night.

Florida A&M managed to put together a 12-0 run in the second half to cut the lead to 12, but ultimately Oregon’s size and talent wore them down as the game went on. The Ducks shot 60% (38-63) from the floor and held the Rattlers to 41.7% (25-60) from the floor, though neither team shot particularly well from the three; Oregon hit just six of their 23 three-point shots, while Florida A&M went 3-of-15.

The Ducks seem to be putting the defensive side of the ball together at a faster pace than expected, and with PAC-12 play rapidly approaching that is a very good sign. Oregon recorded 26 points off turnovers and scored 62 points in the paint, let’s hope they can continue that full-court energy this Saturday when they travel to Pritchardsville, Washington to take on the Huskies.

GO DUCKS!

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP: washington

Saturday, 5 PM, PAC-12 Network - Pritchardsville, washington