EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — DJ Davis scored 24 points, hitting six 3-pointers, as UC Irvine stunned No. 21 Oregon 69-56 on Friday night.
Dawson Baker added 11 points for UC Irvine (2-0), which is picked to finish fourth in the Big West Conference this season. The Anteaters made 12-of-28 3-pointers.
The Ducks were led by N’Faly Dante with 20 points while Nate Bittle added 10. Oregon shot 32.7% from the field, including 4-for-21 on 3-pointers.
UC Irvine built a 35-22 lead at halftime and stretched the margin when Bent Leuchten scored to open the second half and Devin Tillis added a three-point play to push the lead to 40-22.
Dante made a free throw to cut the lead to 42-26 with 18:03 left to play, but the Ducks couldn't get much closer the rest of the game.
UC Irvine built an early 12-4 lead before Oregon took an 18-17 lead on two free throws by Kel’el Ware with 6:11 left in the first half.
The Anteaters closed out the half with a 18-5 run to take a 35-22 lead at the half.
Ofure Ujadughele followed with two free throws before Davis made a 3-pointer for UC Irvine. Dante followed with a layup to get UO within 22-20 before Davis made a jumper and JC Butler hit a 3-pointer.
Dante made a layup to get the Ducks within 27-22 before UC Irvine score the final eight points of the half. Davis made a 3-pointer and Pierre Crockrell hit a jumper before Andre Henry capped the half with a 3-pointer to put the Anteaters ahead 35-22.
Davis scored 13 points in the first half while the Anteaters limited Oregon to 29.2 percent shooting from the field.
BIG PICTURE:
UC Irvine: The Anteaters improved to 2-0 with a couple West Coast Conference teams ahead in Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine before hosting Life Pacific. There is not likely another ranked opponent on UC Irvine’s schedule this year.
Oregon: The Ducks opened the season with a win over Florida A&M and looked likely to start 3-0 with wins expected over UC Irvine and Montana State before the schedule gets tougher. Oregon's nonconference schedule is loaded in the middle with a home game against third-ranked Houston on Sunday followed by a trip to the Phil Knight Invitational where they could face No. 1 North Carolina, No. 16 Villanova, or No. 20 Alabama. After that, Oregon opens Pac-12 play against Washington State and No. 8 UCLA before wrapping up nonconference games against four non-power conference programs.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine: The Anteaters host Loyola Marymount on Tuesday.
Oregon: The Ducks stay home to face Montana State on Tuesday.
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