By Rob Moseley
EUGENE, Ore. – They may have been without two quality veterans from last season, but the Oregon men’s basketball team showed Monday it will feature a quantity of capable options in 2024-25.Kwame Evans Jr. scored 23 points to lead six Ducks who finished with at least eight points in a 91-76 victory Monday over UC Riverside at Matthew Knight Arena. The UO men opened the season without their two leaders from the memorable 2023-24 postseason run, N’Faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard, but the Ducks’ depth looks much improved over a year ago.“We made a lot of mistakes, but a lot of them are correctable,” UO coach Dana Altman said. “We’ve just got to get everybody on the same page — offensively, defensively, get better connected. And that should happen, if you’ve got guys that really want to be part of the team and make things happen.”Newcomer Brandon Angel scored 17 points in his UO debut, and Nate Bittle had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in his return from an injury marred 2023-24 season. Transfer TJ Bamba scored 12 points, Jackson Shelstad added nine points and Jadrian Tracey scored eight.“Everybody can score on this team,” Shelstad said. “I think our chemistry’s looking really good.”How It Happened: Oregon’s balance was on display from the outset. Evans scored 12 points in the first half, while Bamba, Angel and Bittle added nine each.Evans scored eight in the first five minutes, including a three-point play to give Oregon an early 11-9 lead.“When he plays hard, he’s really talented,” Altman said. “… When he’s active and on those toes and going hard, he’s pretty good.”UC Riverside was up 28-26 when the Ducks took the lead for good. Bamba scored the first and last baskets of a 10-0 run for Oregon, with Angel completing a three-point play and Shelstad hitting a three-pointer in between.It was 40-34 when the UO men mounted another run, scoring nine straight on the way to a 51-36 halftime lead. Mookie Cook came off the bench to help spark that run with his defensive intensity.It was 53-38 early in the second half when UC Riverside used a 12-4 spurt to cut the UO lead to seven. Bittle scored to end that run, on a night he finished with a double-double after appearing in just five games last season.“Nate’s really made a good jump,” Altman said. “He’s in a really good place here. He’s listening, takes criticism, tries to turn it around. He just needs to keep playing hard.”With Oregon up 75-68, the Ducks scored eight straight to regain some cushion. Another six straight in the waning minutes gave the UO men their biggest lead of the night, 91-73, before UC Riverside closed the night’s scoring with a three-pointer.Up Next: The Ducks host Montana on Friday (7 p.m., Big Ten Network).
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