EUGENE, Ore. – The Ducks turned the page, and wrote a story with a much happier ending Sunday afternoon.Three days after a one-sided loss, the No. 9 Oregon men’s basketball team rebounded in impressive fashion to beat Maryland, 83-79. The Ducks rallied back from a 13-point deficit in the first half, then made more big plays down the stretch to win and flush the memory of Thursday’s loss to No. 22 Illinois.“We knew what we had to do,” UO post Nate Bittle said. “We just got whooped the other night, and we knew coming out that (Maryland) is a good team; they were ahead of us in the NET and stuff like that. And this was another game that we can show what type of team we can be.”Bittle and his fellow Oregonian Jackson Shelstad led the way Sunday, combining for 39 points on 14-of-20 shooting. Shelstad made his first seven shots of the game — five of them three-pointers — on his way to 23 points.Shelstad hit two threes during a 13-2 run by the Ducks late in the first half, after they’d fallen behind by 13. He then had a pretty drive to the rim during a 14-0 run early in the second half that put Oregon up by nine, 56-47. And his defense helped the UO men hold Maryland to a stretch of 1-of-12 shooting after the Terrapins had fought back into a 69-66 lead.“I got a couple of threes down and I just kind of blacked out, got in the zone right there and just started pulling it,” said Shelstad, whose five threes Sunday matched his total from the five previous games combined. “I believe in my work. I haven’t been shooting it as well as I wanted to this season, but I just try to keep trusting the shot and the work. And today, I just got hot.”How It Happened: During the opening minutes Sunday, it seemed like the Ducks were experiencing a repeat of Thursday, when they were buried by an avalanche of Illinois scoring. Maryland jumped out to a 30-17 lead, making 13-of-20 field-goal attempts in the process.But Brandon Angel scored to spark a 13-2 run that included two threes from Shelstad and another from Bittle. When it was 33-30, TJ Bamba hit a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game. The Terrapins pulled back out to a 45-37 lead, but Oregon closed the first half with a basket from Keeshawn Barthelemy and a three-pointer by Jadrian Tracey to trail just 45-42 at halftime.“We’ve been in a lot of these games, and we’ve came back from more than that,” Shelstad said of the early deficit. “So, we just had to trust in each other, trust what our coaches are saying — 40-minute fight, like coach Altman says every game. Just keep throwing our punches. We knew we were going to go on a run.”After Maryland scored to open the second half, Barthelemy answered with a three-pointer and followed that with two second-chance points on Oregon’s next trip. That sparked a 14-0 run that Barthelemy capped with yet another bucket, on his way to 14 points in the game.Oregon got the lead back to nine at 61-52 on a three-pointer by Kwame Evans Jr. That’s when the Terrapins mounted their last big surge, a 17-5 run to lead 69-66 with less than 8 minutes left. Maryland made five straight shots to cap that run — but then just one of its next 12, as Oregon stabilized its defense.A three-pointer by Tracey and two second-chance points from Evans got the UO men back in front, 72-71. When it was tied 74-74, Maryland missed a dunk and then Bittle blocked a shot, denying the Terps a chance to retake the lead. It was Bittle’s second rejection of the afternoon.“I thought Nate’s blocks were the difference in the game, I really do,” UO coach Dana Altman said.The game was tied again at 76-76 when the Ducks took the lead for good, on a three-pointer by Barthelemy. Oregon was up 81-77 when Barthelemy tried to ice it on a jumper with 17 seconds left; the shot was off and Maryland rebounded the ball, but a Terps player tried to call a timeout when they didn’t have any left. Shelstad made two free throws from the resulting technical foul to clinch the win.Notable: UO football coach Dan Lanning sat courtside for the game with members of his family. … Shelstad’s 23 points were one off his career high set Dec. 4 against USC. … Barthelemy’s five assists and Jadrian Tracey’s four each tied his season high.Up Next: The Ducks play at Ohio State on Thursday (3 p.m., Big Ten Network).
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