TJ Bamba led Oregon with 22 points and five assists in the Ducks’ 78-68 victory over San Diego State on Wednesday in pool play of the Players Era Festival at Las Vegas.
The Ducks (7-0) won both games in the “Power Group” and will play in the championship Saturday against the top team from the “Impact Group.”
San Diego State (3-2) will await its opponent for one of the secondary games Saturday.
The matchups are based on seeding dependent on performance of the first two games.
Bamba made 7 of 14 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Keeshawn Barthelemy had 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Nate Bittle finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, Brandon Angel 12 points and six rebounds and Jackson Shelstad paired 12 points with four assists.
BJ Davis led San Diego State with 18 points before fouling out. Nick Boyd finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Neither team led by more than four points until Oregon scored nine unanswered to take a 34-27 lead with 2:20 left in the first half.
Barthelemy started the run with a jumper and finished it with a 3-pointer.
Oregon outscored San Diego State 16-4 in the last 4:23 of the half to take a 41-31 lead into the break.
Bamba and Barthelemy combined for 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the first half. Boyd led San Diego State with 13 points, making all three of his 3-point attempts and going 5-of-6 overall.
A 7-2 run for Oregon increased its advantage to 48-35 with 17:36 remaining, but San Diego State cut the lead to 56-53 with 10:58 left following a 9-0 run.
A Bamba 3-pointer closed an 8-2 stretch with 4:15 remaining to increase Oregon’s lead to 73-63.
San Diego State did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Davis fouled out with 31 seconds left and Oregon leading 77-68.
–Field Level Media
