University of Oregon
7-3
Cal State Northridge
3-8
Chandler Scores 13 In UO Debut to Help Ducks beat Northridge
12/18/14 | Men's Basketball
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
EUGENE, Ore. ? The Oregon men's basketball team welcomed junior college transfer Michael Chandler to the lineup Wednesday, and the big man helped the Ducks to a 79-56 victory over Cal State Northridge before 4,914 in Matthew Knight Area.
How It Happened: The trend of slow starts by the UO men (7-3) continued, as Stephan Hicks scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Matadors (3-8) a 16-9 lead. That forced a timeout by UO coach Dana Altman, and whatever was said, the Ducks got the message. Joseph Young hit three-pointers on three of the next six UO possessions to jump-start the offense. The Ducks took the lead for good at 26-22 on back-to-back threes by Young and Jalil Abdul-Bassit late in the first half. Oregon was up 39-30 at the half and extended its lead over the course of the second.
Who Stood Out: Chandler, at 6-foot-10 the tallest player on the roster, had missed the first nine games with a knee injury that corresponded ? Oregon announced prior to the game ? to an NCAA suspension related to extra benefits he received as a high school player. He made his debut with 3:10 left in the first half and scored on the next UO possession, receiving a pass on the left block and reversing to the right for a layin.
Chandler scored nine straight for the Ducks to give them a 71-46 lead in the second half, scoring with his left hand and on a pretty banked hook shot. He finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and 5-of-6 free-throw attempts. Young scored 18 on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, ending a 12-of-61 slump from behind the arc since he went 6-of-8 in the opener. Dillon Brooks added 12 points, and Dwayne Benjamin grabbed 10 rebounds.
What It Means: Chandler showed the potential to be a huge addition for the Ducks in the low block. They'll face several teams with good size in the coming weeks, notably UC Irvine on Dec. 29.
Quotable: "(Chandler) gave us a big lift, did a good job. Posted up strong; guys did a good job looking for him. He's a presence in there. For the first time out, and not having much live action at all in practice, it was a good first outing." ? Altman
"We've just got to get off to a better start. That was the main thing coach Altman was talking about. ... Our first 10 games we've been down at the media timeout, and we've got to get better." ? point guard Ahmaad Rorie
"(Young) needs to keep being real conservative and look for good shots. ... I think the last two games he's done a great job of picking and choosing what shots he wants, and because of that his percentage has gone up." ? Altman
Up Next: The Ducks host Delaware State on Saturday in Matthew Knight Arena (noon, Pac-12 Networks).
