Ducks Defeat No. 9 Alabama in Players Era Festival Championship

Saturday, November 30

Las Vegas, NV

6:30 PM

University of Oregon

8-0,0-0Big Ten

Alabama

6-2,0-0SEC

Oregon

Alabama

Ducks Defeat No. 9 Alabama in Players Era Festival Championship

11/30/24 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LAS VEGAS – The Oregon Ducks remain undefeated after an 83-81 victory over No. 9 ranked Alabama in the Player Era Festival Championship game.

Oregon battled throughout to stay within striking distance of the Crimson Tide. The Ducks came out on top of a game that saw 10 ties and nine lead changes, with Alabama leading for 22 minutes of the contest. Veterans Keeshawn Barthelemy and Nate Bittle were the keys to victory, with Barthelemy leading the way scoring 22 points (7-11 FG) off the bench. Supreme Cook was also a spark off the bench with 11 points.

How It Happened: Alabama got into their offense quickly and led 12-8 at the first media timeout. The Ducks held strong with inside play from Nate Bittle, who scored six points early to slow the pace of the game down. Oregon tied things up at 12 after the media timeout behind midrange jumpers from T.J. Bamba and Jadrian Tracey. Alabama responded with a pair of threes that gave the Crimson Tide a 20-16 lead. The Ducks second unit led by Keeshawn Barthelemy kept this a one-score game as the eight-minute mark approached.

Barthelemy found Nate Bittle underneath to give Oregon their first lead of the night, 24-23 with eight minutes left in the half. Alabama answered with a seven-zero run to regain the lead. As the half came to a close, Barthelemy five a couple late buckets and the Ducks responded with stops on the defensive end to tie things up at 39 as the half came to a close.

Oregon and Alabama traded baskets in the first few minutes of the second half. Supreme Cook played huge minutes in the second half, finishing with 11 points, including hitting five-of-six free throws. Cooks free throws were followed by another Barthelemy three-pointer that gave the Ducks a 10 point lead, their largest of the night.

Alabama got right back in the game and hit five of their next six field goal attempts to regain the lead, 63-62. A few minutes later, Bamba drove to the basket with the Ducks down two and finished a tough layup to tie the game. An and-one bucket from Alabama put the Crimson Tide in front by three as the time ticked away. With 42 seconds left, Keeshawn Barthelemy put the Ducks up four with his 20^th point of the game. Oregon led by six late, but turnovers and a couple of quick threes tied things back up at 81.

With five seconds to play, Barthelemy put up a midrange shot that fell short, but Nate Bittle followed the miss with an emphatic dunk that sealed the victory for Oregon.

Notable: The Ducks stayed undefeated with their second ranked win of the season and first over a top 10 team. Keeshawn Barthelemy tied his career high with 22 points, while Nate Bittle had 19 with nine rebounds. Supreme Cook added 11 and T.J. Bamba scored 12.

Up Next: The Ducks play their first Big Ten Conference game against USC on Wednesday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m. PT in Los Angeles.

- www.GoDucks.com -