Brown's 22 helps Oregon hold off Portland State 95-84 (Dec 13, 2017)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) Elijah Brown heard about the one that got away and kept his Oregon teammate from his first triple-double.
Finding out that his missed layup kept Troy Brown from the first such feat by a Duck in 15 years didn't help.
''Man, makes me feel even better, thank you,'' Elijah Brown said. ''He'll have more opportunities, though, so be on the watch because I'm not missing that again.''
Elijah Brown scored 22 points, and Payton Pritchard and Kenny Wooten had 18 each to help Oregon fend off Portland State 95-84 on Wednesday night.
Troy Brown finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Ducks (8-3). Wooten, also a freshman, was 8 of 8 with five dunks and six blocked shots.
Paul White added 15 points for Oregon, which has won three in a row since losing three of its previous four games.
The Ducks shot 32 of 64 overall and 11 of 27 from 3-point range (40.7 percent). The Pac-12 leaders from the foul line also made 20 of 26 free throws.
''I didn't think we took many bad shots at all,'' Oregon coach Dana Altman said. ''I thought our ball movement was good.''
Bryce Canda scored 26 of his career-high points in the second half to lead the Vikings (8-3). Deontae North added 23.
After trailing by 14 points early in the second half, Portland State twice cut the deficit to two before Elijah Brown scored six points during a 10-2 run that put Oregon back in control. Brown had 14 points in the second half.
However, he did hear about that missed layup late in the game from his namesake. Instead of becoming the first Duck since Luke Jackson in 2002 to get the triple, Troy Brown settled for his third straight double-double.
''He said `You know you missed that layup and I was about to get my first career triple-double,''' Elijah Brown said. ''I do feel bad. I'll just have to make the next one I guess. I'll take accountability for the mistake that I made missing that layup.
Pritchard also had seven assists and seven rebounds as the Ducks had a 43-35 edge on the boards and 27 assists on 32 baskets. Brandon Hollins had 11 rebounds for the Vikings.
Portland State had a 29-4 edge in points off turnovers as Oregon committed a season-high 18.
''We got beat on points off turnovers and second-chance points 41-12 and still won, so that's unusual,'' Altman said.
Oregon ended the first half on an 18-4 run after seven lead changes and 10 ties. Portland State missed 10 of its last 11 shots to trail 50-39 at the half.
''Our zone helped us there,'' Altman said ''They were chewing us up pretty good, and we went to the zone and it really helped us.''
Portland State was 28 of 74 for the game (37.8 percent) and 14 of 35 from the arc.
BIG PICTURE
Portland State: The Vikings play Linfield and at California before starting their Big Sky slate with three more road games. The Vikings had their best 10-game start (8-2), with losses to Duke and Butler, in their 22-year history as a Big Sky member.
Oregon: The defending Pac-12 champions have two games remaining before opening conference play by hosting Utah and Colorado between the holidays. The Ducks' last non-conference opponent, Central Arkansas, already has won at California and took UCLA to overtime.
HE SAID IT
Altman said his rotation is still fluid, even though he went with the same starting lineup for the fifth game in a row. Wooten was the first Duck off the bench. ''Nothing is etched in stone,'' Altman said. ''We don't have a rotation down and the starting lineup could change at any time. The next four games will give us a good indication. We've still got a work to do to get ready for that conference grind and figure out what our rotation is going to be.''
STAR WATCH
Wooten, who now has 32 blocks after his season-high six against the Vikings, came into the game shooting 72.1 percent from the floor. He's 20 of 22 over his last three games.
UP NEXT
Portland State: Hosts Division III Linfield on Saturday.
Oregon: Plays its only game outside the state before January at Fresno State on Saturday.
