Sophomore point guard Malcolm Armstead's career high 23 points led four Ducks in double figure scoring as Oregon held off the Idaho State Bengals 77-71 Tuesday evening at McArthur Court.
"It felt pretty good," said Armstead of his night's work. "Every game is a step forward. We get to see a different opponent . and were able to make adjustments. Every time we can capitalize on something we do wrong and correct it in the next game, it's always a step forward."
It was a tougher step forward for the Ducks than the visitor's won-loss record may have indicated. The Bengals 2-9 mark included several narrow losses, most of which took place on the road against solid opponents. And for the whole of the game except for a brief span in the first half and in the final minutes of play, Idaho State was more than a handful for Oregon.
A three point bucket and a lay up by Armstead pushed the Ducks to a 20-8 lead nine minutes into the contest but five minutes later Idaho State had whittled that lead to one point. As the first half entered its last minute, the Bengals were up 33-31, but again Armstead hit a trey, then followed up an Idaho State turnover with a lay up to give Oregon a 36-33 margin at the break.
The Ducks would hold the lead until the end, but Idaho State's shooting accuracy kept them within striking to the end. The Bengals shot the ball at a 58.7% clip - 61.9% in the first half - on 27-46 from the floor.
In the end it was free throws that separated the Ducks on the scoreboard. Oregon hit 19 of their 28 attempts while the Bengals took 15 attempts, making ten. From the floor the Ducks were 24-53 for 45.3%.
"I thought we were a little bit fatigued today," said head coach Ernie Kent. "I'm glad we got through the game. It's good to get to a break and just have a little bit of time off. (To) let those guys go home and enjoy Christmas."
Joining Armstead in double figures was E.J. Singler (11 pts, 7 rebounds), Mike Dunigan (14 pts.) and Garrett Sim (14 pts.).
It was the second consecutive strong outing for Dunigan. The young post hit on three of four from the floor and converted eight of his 10 free throws.
"It was a big win for us," said Singler. "I thought Idaho State played a really good game. A really smart game. But I thought we finished really well."
It was Armstead that paved the way for that finish. With the Bengals within five points as the game entered the last three minutes of play, Armstead hit a three point basket from the top of the key to extend Oregon's lead.
Idaho State scored back to back baskets to get cut that lead to four points, but Armstead found a crease in the Bengal zone defense and hit a jumper in the lane to pad Oregon's lead to six. Free throws by Singler, Sim and Jeremy Jacob kept Idaho State at arm's length as time ran out.
The win improved Oregon's record to 7-4 with one non-conference game remaining. After the Christmas break, the Ducks host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday before opening Pac-10 play. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
