Oregon
Deadspin | Oregon pulls away from fading Rutgers
Jackson Shelstad’s 19 points led Oregon to a 75-57 win over Rutgers on Sunday afternoon in Eugene, Ore.
Shelstad, the Ducks’ leading scorer this season, made three of his team’s season high 13 3-pointers as Oregon (18-8, 7-8 Big Ten) won its second straight game after five consecutive losses.
Center Nate Bittle swished three-ball No. 13 with 4:41 to play, off an offensive rebound from the top of the arc. Bittle had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Ducks, and T.J. Bamba added 11 with six assists.
Lathan Sommerville’s 14 points led Rutgers (12-14, 5-10) and Dylan Harper added 13. But the Scarlet Knights lost their third straight game and fourth of the past five.
The difference in the game was Oregon’s 3-point shooting, 59.1 percent, to Rutgers’ 21.1 percent. The Ducks also played tough defense against the Scarlet Knights’ star freshman duo of Harper and Ace Bailey, who scored just eight points on 4-of-13 shooting in 29 minutes.
Bailey, Rutgers’ leading scorer going into the game, missed all four of his 3-point tries and was held 11 points under his season per-game average.
Rutgers led by as many as seven in the first half, 21-14, on a Harper jumper with 11:08 to go. But the Ducks turned it around for a five-point lead at halftime, 38-33.
Rutgers got as close as one point down in the second half, then Shelstad got hot. He hit three 3-pointers over a roughly five-minute span, his third one giving Oregon a 62-48 lead with 9:29 to play. Then, a 7-0 run gave the Ducks a 69-50 lead, which was insurmountable for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights didn’t make a basket for most of the last three minutes of the game, and Oregon held them to 24 points in the second half after the Ducks had given up 50 second-half points in each of their previous two games.
–Field Level Media
Oregon
Auburn signs former Oregon State QB Tristan Ti’a
Auburn’s quarterback room gained another piece out of the transfer portal on Sunday, and is now up to four scholarship players.
The latest signee is Oregon State transfer Tristan Ti’a, a source confirmed to AL.com. He comes to Auburn after spending one season with the Beavers, and will likely fill the backup quarterback role at Auburn behind Byrum Brown.
Ti’a was a backup during his freshman season at Oregon State, playing in three games. In that time, he completed 37 of his 53 passes for 385 yards with three passing touchdowns and two interceptions.
He’s the third and likely final transfer quarterback to sign with Auburn since the portal opened on Jan. 2, joining Brown and former USF third-string quarterback Locklan Hewlett. Incoming freshman Rhys Brush will also be in the quarterback room next season.
With Ti’a signing, Auburn is now up to 22 incoming transfers. The portal will remain open until Jan. 16. Keep up with all of Auburn’s incoming and outgoing transfers here.
Oregon
Oregon outside linebacker Blake Purchase to enter transfer portal
Oregon is losing a second edge defender to transfer.
Blake Purchase will enter the transfer portal, he announced via X. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
“I want to start by thanking God for this journey and everything that has come with it,” Purchase told DenverSportsMedia.com. “Thank you to my family for the continued love and support they have given me. I’m forever grateful for these past three seasons at the University of Oregon. The lessons l’ve learned here will stay with me for a lifetime. Thank you to all the coaches who poured into me and helped me grow as both a person and a player. And to my teammates – the bonds we built are forever. You are my brothers for life.”
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Purchase had 32 tackles (4.5 for loss) with two sacks, one interception and one pass breakup this season. His 352 snaps on defense ranked 14th for UO this season.
Purchase had two tackles while redshirting last season and five tackles as a true freshman in 2023.
A four-star recruit out of Cherry Creek (Colorado) High School, Purchase was the No. 294 overall prospect and No. 34 edge defender in the class of 2023 in the 247Sports Composite.
Purchase will be the sixteenth scholarship player to transfer from UO this offseason, joining defensive backs Jahlil Florence, Dakoda Fields, Solomon Davis, Sione Laulea, Kingston Lopa and Daylen Austin, receivers Justius Lowe and Kyler Kasper, quarterbacks Austin Novosad and Luke Moga, offensive lineman Lipe Moala and running backs Jay Harris, Makhi Hughes and Jayden Limar. Oregon has 79 projected scholarship players in 2026.
Oregon
Oregon State men slip up down stretch of competitive matchup with Portland
Despite a strong start and competitive effort for much of the night, Oregon State men’s basketball fell apart down the stretch of a 82-76 loss to University of Portland on Saturday night at Chiles Center.
A corner three-pointer by Mikah Ballew buried the Beavers (9-10, 2-4 WCC), putting Portland up 78-70 with just 1:10 remaining.
The Pilots (9-10, 2-4 WCC) had four players in double figures: Cameron Williams with 23, Jermaine Webb Balsinger and Joel Foxwell with 18 apiece, and Ballew with 16.
The Beavers were led by Olavi Suutela with 19 points and Johan Munch with 14. Dez White, Josiah Lake II and Yaak Yaak each had 10, and OSU out-shot the Pilots — 47% to 43% — but untimely turnovers and missed shots hurt them in the second half.
OSU came out hot, taking a 18-8 lead early in the first half including 12 points from Suutela. It got up to 24-15 before the Pilots mounted a response.
Turnovers and miscommunication by the Beavers on offense led to a 8-0 run by Portland. OSU clung to its lead for a while, but Portland took its first at 31-30 late in the first half.
The Pilots carried a 39-38 lead into the break.
Coming out of the half, after some back and forth, the Beavers went on an 11-1 run — fueled by the scoring and defensive effort of Suutela, and inside play of Noah Amenhauser — to take a 54-45 advantage at the 13:11 mark.
Turnovers reared their ugly head once again for the Beavers, though, and a pair of jumpers by Joel Foxwell cut the OSU lead down to 56-53.
Portland retook the lead, 57-56, with 10 minutes remaining. With an increased energy on both ends of the floor and OSU missing open shots, the Pilots led 66-63 with six minutes remaining and never relinquished it.
Portland’s defense smothered OSU in the halfcourt, and Wayne Tinkle’s side couldn’t find an easy basket, settling often for one-on-one opportunities rather than consistent and meaningful ball movement. Portland led, 71-68, with 3:19 to go.
Trailing by nine, Lake II hit a three-pointer to cut it to six with five seconds left. Too little, too late for the Beavers as they slipped back below .500.
Next game: Oregon State (9-10, 2-4 WCC) vs. LMU (11-7, 2-3 WCC)
- When: Wednesday, Jan. 14
- Time: 7:00 pm PT
- Where: Gill Coliseum, Corvallis
- Stream: ESPN+
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