It was a game they needed to win. It was a game they should have won.
The Ducks got their win Wednesday night against a Mississippi Valley State team that wasn't as talented or as the Ducks. Oregon easily won 79-51 to move to 5-4 in front of 5,713 fans in Mac Court.
Ernie Kent was forced to play some people a lot of minutes because of injuries and academic issues. So Garrett Sim stepped in to the starting lineup and led Oregon with a season-high 19 points. Tajuan Porter and Joevan Catron were nursing injuries and LeKendrick Longmire and Teondre Williams lost their starting spots due to grades.
"The integrity of our athletic program lies on our academics," Kent said. "Teondre and LeKendric have lost their starting spots. They will not start again until I feel comfortable that they know their academic responsibilities."
Sim and Jamil Wilson used the extended playing time to gain valuable experience. Sim was 6-of-12 from the floor, including five three-pointers. Wilson was 6-of-10 from the floor for his 12 points. Jeremy Jacob also started at the post position and scored 11 points.
"When you know you've made 200 hundred shots already today and you get an open look in the game, you know you're probably going to make it," said Sim on finding his long-range stroke.
Mississippi Valley State was able to keep up with the Ducks for the first eight minutes and held an 11-8 lead, but then Oregon went on a 13-0 run to take a 10-point lead then continued to extend their lead as the game went on. Julius Cheeks did his part to keep the Delta Devils in the game with his 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and five treys.
But it was the Sim-to-Wilson tandem that hooked up three times for monster dunks, including a dunk that gave the Ducks the lead for the first time.
Oregon eventually built a 33-point lead when the score was 71-38 with four minutes left on a three-pointer by Sim.
Drew Wiley came off the bench to score eight points and wasn't shy in shooting the long ball, he was 2-of-6 from three-point land.
Oregon took a 40-24 lead into the halftime locker room. Both teams had trouble finding the hole to begin the second half. But two Longmire free throws and a three by Sim gave Oregon a 51-28 lead and the result was never in doubt.
The highlight of the night came when Wilson was free along the baseline and Sim found him with a lob for a dunk to give the Ducks a 63-37 lead with 8:06 left.
"Jamil played well. It gives us more weapons against teams that want to ?zone' us," Kent said. "Jamil was so used to bringing the ball down the floor, we've really been on him to get out and run lanes."
Oregon has a couple of days off before hosting Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies are 6-5 on the season. They play Seattle University Thursday before coming to Mac Court. Oakland has defeated the Ducks the previous two years.
"We've got a tough opponent in Oakland whose beat us the last two years," said Sim. "We're going to be ready to get after it. They're going to be hungry coming in here."
