EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Payton Pritchard came to Oregon’s rescue with some timely offense.
Pritchard scored 24 points and Texas Arlington could only respond with one missed shot after another in No. 14 Oregon’s 67-47 victory over the cold-shooting Mavericks on Sunday night.
“Payton finished some shots,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said about the senior guard who was 10 of 16 from the field. “He’s got the ball in his hands so much, I think he’s got to set the tone. He took the ball to the basket and made some good plays.”
UTA had no answer.
The Mavericks (2-2) set a program record by shooting a woeful 23.4 percent from the field, making 15 of 64 shots overall and 6 of 30 from 3-point range, where their offense usually thrives.
“There were some empty offensive possessions and we can’t beat Oregon only scoring 47 points,” UTA coach Chris Ogden said. “There were some open shots that went in and out and that we’ve got to knock down to beat these guys because they’re so good.”
Jordan Phillips led the Mavericks (2-2) with 14 points but made only four of 12 shots from the field. Rashad Davis and Jabari Narcis, the team’s co-leading scorers entering the game, were a combined 1 of 10 from the field.
“We have guys who can really shoot the ball … but that happens,” Ogden said of the dismal shooting performance. “When you have those stretches where you can’t hit a shot we’ve got to have something else we can go to and get fouled.”
The 23.4% shooting broke the school record of 23.5% in a 1999 game against Texas State.
Oregon scored 13 consecutive points midway through the first half to take a 29-16 lead and built that margin to 37-21 before the Mavericks scored the final seven points of the half to pull to 37-28.
“It kind of opened the door for them there,” Altman said.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: With their four opening wins, including a triumph over No. 13 Memphis, the Ducks should be looking at a slight rise in the poll from their current ranking of No. 14.
Texas Arlington: The Mavericks haven’t fared well in stepping up in competition, going 0-7 against Pac-12 schools and 1-32 against opponents that were ranked at the time of the meeting.
BIG ON THE BOARDS
Oregon had a 46 to 36 edge in rebounds, including a 25 to 19 margin in the second half when the Mavericks had no second-chance points after tallying nine in the first half. Pritchard and freshman C.J. Walker each had eight rebounds to lead the Ducks.
UP NEXT
Oregon: Hosts Houston on Friday.
Texas Arlington: At No. 8 Gonzaga on Tuesday night.
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