Ragged first half offers glimpses of Ducks' athleticism and length

A malfunctioning scoreboard clock provided the perfect metaphor for the Oregon men during a turnover-plagued first half in their season opener against Hawaii.

The Duck five turnovers in the first four minutes, largely a product of new faces and guys learning to play together-- a center would cut to the basket, and the pass would be thrown behind him, expecting him to pop out.

With so many new faces, they're learning to play together in real time. A wild pass led to a high-flying dunk by Dre Bullock.

There were highlights too. Kwame Evans knocked down a three. Sean Stewart fed Nate Bittle inside for a lay-in. Jackson Shelstad, still out with a broken hand, watched in sweats on the bench, dribbling a basketball.

With all the raggedness Oregon led 14-11 with 11:33 to go in the first half.

Simpkins drove to the hoop, drew a foul. He buried both free throws to give the Ducks a 16-14 lead. A good possession with strong ball movement yielded a Simpkins layup, then a cut to the hoop got him another, off an assist by Evans.

The two teams started 11-33 from the floor and 2-14 from three, quintessential bad early season basketball. Bittle zipped a pass in the lane to Evans, who dunked to tie it at 22-22. Devon Pryor put back a rebound, a good second-chance bucket, 24-22.

Evans worked his way inside for a tough bucket, a jump hook, a four-point lead.

Better ball movement led to a driving layup by Pryor, an 8-0 run that got it to 28-22. Simpkins splashed a three, starting to feel some rhythm.

Just into the game Ege Demir had a couple of hard-luck turnovers, getting his feet caught and falling to the floor after a rebound, rushing an outlet pass and throwing the ball away. That brought the Ducks to 11 turnovers with four minutes to play in the first half, a pace worse than last week against Stanford.

Wei Lin still hasn't found his shot-- a 21 points-a-game scorer last year in the CBL, he hasn't found his rhythm yet as a Duck, starting 0-4 tonight with three of the turnovers.

Oregon led 33-26 at the half despite 13 turnovers and shooting 2-9 from three. It'll all get better with more practice, film study, and Shelstad returning to the lineup.