Oregon men’s basketball beats No. 9 Alabama 83-81 to win Players Era Festival Championship Game – Daily Emerald

There’s something special about a Dana Altman-led team in Vegas tournaments.

The (for now) unranked Ducks continued their undefeated 8-0 start with their second win over a ranked team of the week. Oregon defeated No. 9 Alabama (6-2) to win the Players Era Festival tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The game was incredibly close from start to finish. Neither team ever led by more than 10 points. With the score 39:39 at halftime, it was clear that the winner would be decided in the final minutes.That’s exactly how it happened. Nate Bittle hit a jumper with four seconds left to give the Ducks the lead for good. 12 points were scored in the last two minutes of the game, six by both teams.

Surprisingly, the game’s top scorer came on as a substitute. Keeshawn Barthelemy scored a career-high 22 points, edging out the ranked Tide. Along with Barthelemy, Supreme Cook had 11 points while the bench scored 34 points.

Oregon had to work around some foul trouble, Brandon Angel (four points) was fouled and TJ Bamba (12 points) had four.

Bittle had 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists in his career. He makes a case for being the main man in this undefeated squad.

As a team, the Ducks shot 43.9% (Alabama was 42.2%) from the field, 29.4% (31.6%) from 3-point range and 80% (75%) from the free throw line. In a game where every point counted, both teams missed five three-point shots, but Oregon went to the line more and scored more crucial points.

Alabama’s Labaron Philon led the Crimson Tide with 15 points, while three others scored 11 points.

The Ducks earn a large sum of zero money to be split among the players and are considered one of the week’s big winners.

Oregon now has two ranked wins this season and will face USC on the road on Wednesday before returning to Matthew Knight Arena to face the Bruins on Sunday.