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Boucher’s double-double leads No. 22 Oregon past Montana

P12 Oregon Arizona Basketball

Oregon forward Chris Boucher dunks over Arizona forward Ryan Anderson (12) and center Dusan Ristic (14) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Pac-12 men’s tournament Friday, March 11, 2016, in Las Vegas. Oregon won in overtime, 95-89. (AP Photo/John Locher)

AP

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) Chris Boucher met the news that he had come within one rebound of being Oregon’s first 20-20 man in 40 seasons with his signature shrug.

“It didn’t matter if I got 20,” he said. “I was just doing my job.”

Boucher had 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to lead No. 22 Oregon to an 81-67 victory over Montana on Tuesday night.

Dylan Ennis added 22 points for the Ducks (9-2), who won their seventh straight and extended the nation’s third-longest home winning streak to 32 games. Payton Pritchard had 12 points.

But the night belonged to Boucher. The last Duck to have at least 20 points and 20 rebounds was the late Greg Ballard in a five-overtime game against California in 1977.

“Chris absolutely saved us,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “His 19 rebounds were the difference in the game.

“His activity increases so much when he’s around the basket and rebounds. I couldn’t take him off the floor because I wasn’t sure we’d get a rebound if he wasn’t out there.”

Oregon took control of the game with a 9-0 run midway through the second half for its first double-digit lead. The Ducks shot 51.7 percent (30 of 58) for the game but struggled at the free throw line, hitting just 15 of 25.

Ahmaad Rorie, who played his freshman season at Oregon before transferring in 2015, led the Grizzlies (3-8) with 19 points. Michael Oguine and Walter Wright added 12 each.

Montana missed 10 of its first 11 shots but built a 21-14 lead when Oregon went 7 1/2 minutes without a field goal. The culprit was five turnovers in a span of six possessions by Altman’s count.

“Good teams don’t do that,” he said. “Our guards have got to get it moving better.

“Our ball movement and player movement is just slow. We’re supposed to be pushing it and flowing into something.”

The Ducks had 11 of their 13 turnovers by halftime. They bounced back with a 14-2 run late in the first half and never trailed the rest of the way.

Boucher led Oregon to a 40-34 edge in rebounds. It was his first double-double of the season and 10th of his career.

He also had five of the eight blocked shots by the Ducks, who lead the nation at 8.8 per game.

BIG PICTURE

Montana is off to its worst nonconference start under third-year coach Travis DeCuire. The Grizzlies, who have finished 14-4 in the Big Sky the past two seasons, were picked for second by the media and fourth by the coaches.

Oregon’s search for two solid halves against anything but an overmatched opponent continues with just two games left before the Pac-12 season begins. The defending conference champions continue to bring preseason All-America Dillon Brooks off the bench.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Oregon picked up two spots after falling 20 over the past several weeks from its all-time high of No. 4. The tick upward makes the Ducks’ Pac-12’s opening week all the more intriguing against No. 2 UCLA and No. 24 Southern Cal.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Ducks won their 100th game in Matthew Knight Arena. They are 50-2 in nonconference games and 50-11 against Pac-12 foes in their 6-year-old home.

GLUE GUY: Ennis, the sixth-year transfer from Villanova coming off a medical redshirt season, had his best shooting game as a Duck, hitting 7 of 10 overall and 3 of 5 from 3-point range to go with three assists and two blocks.

UP NEXT

Montana gets its last shot at a nonconference road win at UC Riverside on Saturday night. The Grizzlies are 0-5 away from Missoula.

Oregon plays its only game away from Eugene during December when it faces UNLV in Portland on Saturday night. The Ducks host No. 2 UCLA to open Pac-12 play in two weeks.