Pritchard, McIntosh lead Oregon past Central Arkansas, 96-82

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Payton Pritchard scored 24 points and MiKyle McIntosh had 17 to help lead Oregon to a 96-82 victory over Central Arkansas on Wednesday night.

Pritchard had 12 points in the first 7 minutes for the Ducks (10-3), who won their fifth consecutive game. Troy Brown added 14 points and M.J. Cage had 11.

Jordan Howard had 35 points, two off his career high, to lead the Bears (6-7). Mathieu Kamba added 14 points.

The Ducks opened a 55-40 halftime lead by shooting 22 of 30 for 73.3 percent behind Pritchard, who made his first five shots. Oregon cooled off in the second half to finish 36 of 58 (62 percent) from the field, including 12 of 20 from 3-point range.

Central Arkansas got within nine points three times in the second half. The Bears hit 13 of 26 from beyond the arc and 30 of 62 overall (48.4 percent).

Oregon had a 34-25 rebounding edge as Pritchard, McIntosh and Kenny Wooten had six each. The Ducks also had a 44-28 advantage in points in the paint.

BIG PICTURE

Oregon, at 10-3, finished its nonconference schedule one game behind its pace from last season, when it advanced to the Final Four. While last year’s team started Pac-12 play ranked in the top 20, this season’s Ducks – with four new starters – haven’t received a vote in the last four polls.

Central Arkansas went 1-2 against Pac-12 teams in nonconference play. The Bears beat California 96-69 on the road two weeks ago for their first win over a Power 5 team since becoming a NCAA Division I member 11 years ago. They’ve yet to win more than 14 games since then.

UP NEXT

Central Arkansas: Hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 29 to begin Southland Conference play.

Oregon: Opens Pac-12 play on Dec. 29 hosting Utah.