Bol, Oregon get past San Diego 65-55

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Bol Bol had 20 points and nine rebounds as Oregon relied on its defense and rebounding to get past San Diego 65-55 on Wednesday night.

Payton Pritchard added 12 points and seven assists for the Ducks (6-3), who won the rebounding battle 35-31 after trailing 18-11 at halftime.

Oregon also held the Toreros (8-3) to 34.6 percent shooting in the second half and finished with 11 steals and six blocked shots, including four by Bol.

San Diego missed a chance for its best start to a season since it joined Division I in 1979-80. Isaiah Pineiro led the Toreros with 14 points, Olin Carter III had 12 and Tyler Williams 11.

The Ducks went ahead to stay on Bol’s driving bank shot early in the second half and pushed its lead to eight points four times behind Bol’s 12 points after the break. Paul White made two free throws with 22 seconds left for the final margin.

With Pineiro, San Diego’s leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, on the bench with two early fouls, the Toreros were up 29-20 with 4 ½ minutes left in the first half behind Carter’s 10 points. However, the Ducks cranked up their defense to close the half with an 11-3 run by forcing six turnovers to cut the deficit to 32-31.

BIG PICTURE

San Diego coach Sam Scholl ramped up his veteran team’s nonconference schedule in his first season with four games against Pac-12 competition. The Toreros are now 1-2 with one to go against Washington State in Las Vegas before Christmas.

Oregon played from behind almost the entire first half and showed the defensive grit coach Dana Altman has been seeking with a smothering trap that produced 16 turnovers.

UP NEXT

San Diego hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday night.

Oregon hosts Boise State, which won in Eugene last season, on Saturday night.