EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Cal Poly coach Joe Callero hopes his team learned a thing or two about consistency in suffering its worst defeat of the season on Sunday.
No. 14 Oregon had had five players score in double figures and the Ducks beat the Mustangs 82-61 in the final day of the Global Sports Hardwood Challenge at Matthew Knight Arena.
Brian Bennett led the Mustangs (2-5) with 11 points and six rebounds. He was the only Cal Poly player in double figures.
”We did some really good things and had some spurts,” Mustangs coach Joe Callero said, ”but we’re playing the No. 14 team in the nation, and having good spurts is far different than having an opportunity to beat Oregon on their home court.”
Richard Amardi and Elgin Cook both scored 14 points for Oregon (7-0), which held the Mustangs to 6-of-27 shooting from 3-point range.
”All in all, I think we played one of the best games this year, defensive-wise for sure,” said Oregon senior guard Johnathan Loyd, who scored a season-high 13 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. ”We were locked in.”
Oregon assistant coach Tony Stubblefield – speaking for Oregon head coach Dana Altman, who was resting a bad back in the locker room – said the team focused on eliminating turnovers a day after committing a season-worst 20 against North Dakota State. The Ducks had four turnovers Sunday against the Mustangs.
”I think our guys came out with a lot of energy,” Stubblefield. ”We came out and put together a much better effort into defense and rebounding.”
Cal Polly guard Kyle Odister tied the score at seven early in the first half for the Mustangs, but the Ducks went on a 13-2 run, sparked by a dunk by Waverly Austin off a nice pass from Loyd with 15:30 to go in the first half.
Oregon extended a seven-point lead to 18 thanks to a hot streak. Loyd hit a 3-pointer with nine minutes left in the half, and Young made a 3 on Oregon’s next possession. After the Mustangs made a free throw, Loyd connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the lead to 36-18 with 5:41 in the first half.
”We just made simple plays,” sophomore Damyean Dotson said. ”Didn’t try to force anything.”
Cal Poly kept the game from getting out of control, bringing the score to 40-32 on a floater from David Nwaba with 1:42 in the half. Nwaba scored eight points during the Mustangs’ run.
The Ducks shot 58.3 percent in the first half and made seven 3-pointers in taking a 44-32 lead.
Loyd scored 11 points, had four rebounds and four assists in the first half.
Oregon continued to build its lead in the second half. Amardi took a nice feed from Young and finished with a layup, and a minute later he scored on a putback to give the Ducks a 65-45 lead with 9:32 to go in the game.
A deep 3-pointer from Young with 7:44 left capped a 15-2 run by the Ducks, giving them their largest lead to that point at 72-45.
Nwaba, Maliik Love and Ridge Shipley scored nine points apiece for the Mustangs.
Dotson scored 13 points, and Young added 13 points for Oregon, which shot 48 percent for the game.
NOTES: Attendance was 5,580. . Cal Poly has lost two games in a row. They lost by two points Saturday to North Dakota State in Eugene.
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