After N’Faly Dante’s historic game, Oregon faces Montana

Oregon’s N’Faly Dante is coming off a historic 21-rebound effort heading into Friday’s home opener with Montana in Eugene, Ore.

Dante’s rebounding production in the Ducks’ 82-71 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs on Monday was the most for an Oregon player since Gerald Willett had 21 against Duquesne in the 1974-75 season. The Oregon record for rebounds is 32, by Jim Loscutoff against Brigham Young in 1955.

“I was just trying to do what I could to help the team win,” said Dante, a senior from Mali. “We came together to get the win. There is no other option for me. I just have to do whatever the team needs.”

Dante also had 16 points, and Nate Bittle added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Ducks, who had a 63-41 rebounding edge against Georgia.

After the game, Oregon coach Dana Altman addressed the absence of high-profile freshman guard Jackson Shelstad, who is out with a knee injury suffered in practice. Multiple reports indicate Shelstad, the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, will be out for another two to three weeks. Altman did not place a timeline on Shelstad’s return.

“He’s going to be out for a while,” Altman said. “We are going to be really patient with him. He’s got a really good career ahead.”

Montana defeated Northwest Indian College 107-59 on Tuesday night at home in its season opener.

The Grizzlies started with a 22-2 lead and pulled away even more behind Aanen Moody’s 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Moody also had four of Montana’s 21 assists.

“He’s been on fire,” Montana coach Travis DeCuire said. “I think his biggest growth though has been his distribution — his ability to read the help defenders and get the ball to big guys. We didn’t run a lot of offense tonight, we just played a lot of motion but I thought he did a good job sharing.”

—Field Level Media