Ducks Erupt Offensively to Force CBI Game 3

box score

EUGENE, Ore. – The 2011 College Basketball Invitational Championship Series will go the distance after Oregon defeated Creighton, 71-58, at Matthew Knight Arena on Wednesday night.

Three Ducks scores in double figures, led by Joevan Catron ’s 18 points. Malcolm Armstead scored 14 points and tied Johnathan Loyd with a game-high tying six assists. E.J. Singler also tallied 10 points. Armstead also registered a game-high five steals.

The Ducks led by as many as 21 points on three occasions in the second half. A 27-7 run carried over from the end of the first half put the Ducks up 44-23 with 17:53 remaining. Creighton went on a 13-4 run of its own to pull to within 12 at 60-48 with seven and a half minutes to play.

A 9-1 spurt by Oregon put the game away as Jay-R Strowbridge answered the call with a three-pointer and Catron drained back-to-back trifectas to put UO back up by 20.

Oregon broke the game open to go up 25-16 late in the first half. The Ducks shot a crisp 59.3 percent in the opening frame to grab a 35-21 lead at the break. Armstead made five of his six field goal attempts to finish with a game-high 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play.

Oregon shot 53.4 percent for the game and held Creighton to 41.9 percent shooting. The Blue Jays did connect on 7-of-18 three-pointers while the Ducks countered with a 5-of-16 mark from long range. Both teams grabbed 27 rebounds, but Oregon had a decided edge in turnovers, 20-12, and outscored Creighton 35-9 off miscues.

These two teams will square off one more time at Matthew Knight Arena with the winner claiming the 2011 CBI presented by Zebra Pen. Opening tipoff is at 7 p.m.