A hot-shooting Oregon team defeated Saint Louis University 74-57 Saturday in NCAA Tournament third-round action at HP Pavilion. Saint Louis, the No. 4 seed in the Midwest and the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament champions, ends the season 28-7. The 28 victories, which include a 64-44 NCAA Tournament second-round win over New Mexico State, are a school record.
Kwamain Mitchell led the Billikens with 18 points and a game-high five steals while adding three assists. Dwayne Evans (8-of-13 FG) had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Jordair Jett tossed in 11 points.
Oregon, the No. 12 seed, advances to next week’s Midwest Regional in Indianapolis with a 28-8 mark. The Ducks, who won the Pac-12 Tournament title, captured a fifth straight victory.
Damyean Dotson led an Oregon offense that shot 52.8 percent from the floor overall and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from 3-point range. Dotson, who was 8-of-12 overall and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, scored 23 points.
Carlos Emory (6-of-10 FG) and E.J. Singler netted 14 points apiece. Arsalan Kazemi grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Ducks to a 38-27 advantage on the boards, while Johnathan Loyd dished out six assists.
The Billikens jumped out to a 7-2 lead on a Rob Loe free throw, Evans’ 19-footer from the right wing, two more Loe free throws and Jett’s fast-break layup on a pretty feed from Mitchell.
Oregon finished the first half with a 21-4 flurry that gave the Ducks a 35-19 lead at intermission. In the second, SLU narrowed the gap to 37-26, but Oregon answered with a 7-2 run to restore its 16-point halftime advantage, 44-28. A later Ducks run of 15-2 provided a 63-39 cushion.
Story courtesy of SLUBillikens.com
