Oregon men's basketball battles way to gutsy win over Villanova at PKI
The Oregon Ducks entered Sunday with just six scholarship players available.
In their final game at the PK85 Invitational, they were rolling without N’Faly Dante, Nate Bittle, Keeshawn Barthelemy, Brennan Rigsby, Jermaine Couisnard, and Ethan Butler. Tasked with facing a traditionally strong Villanova program Sunday in Portland, Dana Altman’s options at the guard spot were so few that he started walk-on Gabe Reichle.
And yet, the Ducks found a way to win anyway.
Oregon topped Villanova 74-67 at the Chiles Center to improve to 2-4 on the season.
Quincy Guerrier led the way with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. Will Richardson added 19 points and eight assists, and freshman Kel’el Ware added 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
The Ducks outscored the Wildcats 39-36 in the second half and closed out the game on a 10-0 run. That happened, in large part, because they got some clutch baskets down the stretch from Guerrier and Richardson.
With the Ducks trailing 67-64 with just over two minutes left in regulation, Richardson set Guerrier up for a three-pointer to tie the game.
Next time down the floor, Richardson was fouled and buried 1-of-2 free throws to give Oregon a one-point lead. The Ducks then came up with a crucial stop at the other end, and Richardson knifed his way to the basket and finished a tough shot to push Oregon’s lead to 70-67 with 49 seconds remaining.
Villanova’s Caleb Daniels missed a three-point look, and Richardson responded by icing the game with another bucket with just 19 seconds remaining.
Richardson played 39 of 40 minutes for the Ducks on Sunday after playing all 40 minutes against Michigan State on Friday.
Aside from Richardson, Guerrier, and Ware, Oregon’s only available scholarship players were Rivaldo Soares, Tyrone Williams, and Lok Wur. Both Williams and Wur have also dealt with injuries this season and have played sparingly.
Reichle (23 minutes) and fellow walk-ons James Cooper and Brady Paris saw playing time Sunday as a result.
The Ducks have been without Couisnard, Rigsby, and Butler all season. Barthelemy suffered an apparent foot injury against Houston to add to the injury woes last week, while Bittle was dealing with a foot injury and N’Faly Dante was in concussion protocol on Sunday.
Head coach Dana Altman will hope to have at least a few of those players back this week when the Ducks kick off Pac-12 play against Washington State in Eugene.
The Cougars (3-2) are coming off a 96-54 win over Detroit Mercy on Friday but were dealt losses by Prairie View A&M and Boise State earlier in the season.
Oregon and Washington State are slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m. PT in Eugene on Thursday. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks.
