Oregon’s first regular-season game without Dana Altman came with a simple formula: get the ball inside, keep moving it, and let the efficiency do the rest.
The Ducks opened the 2026-27 season Monday night at Matthew Knight Arena with an 87-69 win over Montana, leaning on 54 points in the paint and a 60% shooting night to take control after an early stumble. Tyrone Riley IV led Oregon with 17 points, while Andrew Meadow and Malique Ewin added 14 apiece. Fred Payne chipped in 12 points and five assists.
Oregon fell behind 12-4 right away, but once the Ducks started forcing the issue near the rim, the game changed fast. A 21-2 burst flipped the momentum, fueled by ball movement and a string of emphatic finishes. The highlight came on a wild lob from Taylor Bol Bowen to Pharaoh Compton, who hammered home a one-handed dunk.
Montana made things uncomfortable again in the first half, trimming the deficit to 29-26, but Oregon answered with an 8-0 run and carried a 40-31 lead into halftime. Five Ducks had at least five points by the break.
“You know, that was gonna be one of our biggest keys coming into this game, just because of the size difference, that we felt like we could win the battle in the paint,” Stubblefield said. “And we were able to do that tonight, and we were doing it on the boards as well. But at the same time, giving up 13 threes on the other end, they had some advantages themselves with the quickness on the perimeter, that they created from an offensive standpoint.”
The second half followed a similar script for a while. Oregon kept attacking the basket and sharing the ball, and Meadow’s fast-break dunk followed by a corner 3 two possessions later pushed the lead to 52-38.
Montana wasn’t done. The Grizzlies took advantage of Oregon turnovers and ripped off a 12-2 run in three minutes to close within 55-50. Then their full-court pressure started to cause real problems, and they eventually tied the game at 57 with a little more than 10 minutes left.
That’s when Oregon steadied itself. Payne returned to settle things down, and the Ducks answered with a quick 5-0 run.
“I thought our guys were very resilient,” Stubblefield said. “I thought they responded very well, and then I think we got to their legs a little bit. I think (Montana) got a little fatigued over the course of the last eight or nine minutes.”
From there, Oregon pulled away. Bol Bowen sparked a 10-0 run with transition play and smart passing, helping the Ducks stretch the margin to 72-59 with 7:28 remaining. The pressure stayed on, the pace stayed high, and Oregon’s shooting climbed past 60% as the lead reached 80-64 with four minutes left.
The Ducks took only four 3-point attempts in the second half, but they didn’t need many. By the end, the inside game and the pace had done the damage, and Oregon walked away with a comfortable 18-point win.
Altman’s preseason retirement has left plenty of questions hanging over the program, and tougher tests are coming, especially in Big Ten play. But on opening night, the Ducks looked connected and upbeat.
“I think the adversity has actually brought us together even closer,” Bol Bowen said. “I mean, it’s my fourth year in college, and this is the closest team that I’ve been a part of, being at Florida State, Alabama. This team here just competes for each other, and we all love each other.”
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