EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon guard Garrett Sim had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Ducks in a 79-51 victory against Mississippi Valley State Wednesday night.
Sim, making his first start of the season, made 5 of 9 3-pointers and was 6 of 12 from the field overall. Jamil Wilson also scored 12 points for the Ducks (5-4) and Jeremy Jacobs had 11 points.
Julius Cheeks scored 21 points and hit 5 of 9 3-pointers to lead the Delta Devils (1-9). He played the entire 40 minutes and was the only MVSU player to score in double figures.
Sim, who started 26 games at point guard as a freshman last season, was part of a new-look Oregon lineup against the Delta Devils that also included fellow point guard Malcolm Armstead.
"Coach told me about 30 minutes before the game that I was going to start and he told me to cherish the opportunity," said Sim, who averaged 6.9 points last season. "I really took that to heart."
The Ducks opened the game with their top three scorers on the bench. Guard LeKendric Longmire missed his first start of the season and guard Teondre Williams sat for the first time in seven games due to academics.
Meanwhile, Tajuan Porter didn't play for the third time in four games because of an injured ankle. Williams leads the Ducks with 13.1 points and Longmire is third at 9.5.
"They will not start again until I am comfortable they understand their responsibilities academically," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said of Longmire and Williams.
The shuffled lineup appeared to work well for the Ducks. They broke the game open with a 13-0 run early in the first half to take a 21-11 lead, and Oregon was up 40-24 at the break.
"We've been changing it up in practice, mixing and matching teams, seeing who plays well with who," said Jacobs, who made his second start of the season. "It paid off tonight."
Sim came out firing in the second half. He hit four 3-pointers in the final 12:41 as the Ducks took advantage of MVSU's poor shooting to lead by as many as 31 points, 68-37, following a dunk in transition by Williams with seven minutes to play.
"It was a joy to see him respond and play that well and shoot the ball that well," Kent said.
MVSU shot just 36 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.
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