Pritchard helps No. 14 Oregon beat Portland State 84-57
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Payton Pritchard scored 22 points while Paul White added 15 and No. 14 Oregon opened its season by routing Portland State 84-57 Tuesday night.
Pritchard, the only player remaining from the Ducks’ 2017 Final Four team, had 18 points by halftime as Oregon led 45-29. He only missed one of his seven shots from the field and was 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
The Ducks (1-0) broke open a back-and-forth contest with a 12-0 run late in the opening half and didn’t allow the Vikings (0-1) to get closer than 11 points after that.
Oregon’s five-star freshman center, 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, struggled with foul trouble early in his debut but finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 23 minutes. Freshman Francis Okoro had 10 points off the bench.
Holland Woods led the Vikings with 13 points and Jaime Orme added 11.
The Ducks shot 61.5 percent in the first half (16 of 26) and 54.0 percent overall (27 of 50), including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Oregon averaged more than 25 attempts from beyond the arc last season.
Portland State was just 5 of 35 on 3-pointers and shot 28.8 percent overall (21 of 73). The Vikings won the rebounding battle 41-38.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon will continue to blend its five primary returners with six newcomers, including the five freshmen who comprise the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class. Another five-star signee, 6-foot-9 Louis King, isn’t expected to be available until December as he recovers from a knee injury.
Portland State will go as far as Woods, the 2018 Big Sky freshman of the year, can take the Vikings under second-year coach Barrett Peery.
UP NEXT
Oregon hosts another Big Sky team, Eastern Washington, on Friday night before heading to New York City to face Iowa and either UConn or Syracuse next weekend at the 2K Empire Classic.
Portland State christens its new on-campus arena, the 3,094 Viking Pavilion, against UC Riverside on Saturday night.
