Oregon’s 12 dunks as a team helped the Ducks roll to a 98-71 win over Eastern Washington on Friday afternoon in Eugene, Ore.
Wei Lin’s 20 points off the bench led the way for the Ducks (2-0), followed by 16 from Fred Payne and 13 from Pharaoh Compton. It was Lin’s second career 20-point game, and Oregon made 39 of 65 shots for the game (60%), including 30 of 40 inside the arc (75%).
For the second straight game, 12 players saw action for Oregon. Against the Eagles (0-2), the Ducks’ bench scored 52 of their points.
Tyrone Riley IV, Oregon’s leading scorer in the season opener on Monday, sat out as the program announced before the game that he suffered a hand injury and would be reevaluated in four weeks.
Malachi Richmond’s 14 points and Jamil Miller’s 13 led Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference.
A 17-4 run over the final five minutes of the first half turned a close game into major momentum for Oregon. Up 36-35, the Ducks scored 11 straight points, including a transition 3 -pointer for Payne and a tip-in layup off a lost ball for Sean Stewart.
Oregon led 53-39 at halftime, with 14 points from Payne and 10 with six rebounds for Malique Ewin. Payne knocked down four of the Ducks’ six made 3-pointers in the half, including one with 26 seconds to play.
The Ducks, who had several signature slams in their season opener, dunked much more often against the Eagles as Oregon continued to show off its athleticism. The lead surged to 62-41 in the first few minutes of the second half, but the Eagles rallied to cut it to 62-49.
They couldn’t get closer, as Lin scored eight straight Oregon points to rebuild a sizable lead, and the dunks became even more frequent down the stretch.
Compton had four and Tajh Ariza, Seven Spurlock and Dwayne Aristode had one apiece as Oregon racked up eight slams in the final 12:27 of the game.