EUGENE, Ore., March 31 (UPI) -- Joevan Catron led a hot Oregon shooting effort Wednesday and the Ducks forced the College Basketball Invitation finals to the limit by downing Creighton 71-58.
The teams will play again in Eugene Friday to determine the tournament's champion.
Oregon shot 53 percent from the field to even the best-of-three series at 1-1 after having lost the opener in Nebraska Monday 84-76.
Catron made 8-of-16 shots and scored 18 points. Malcolm Armstead added 14 points and E.J. Singler had 10.
Oregon (20-18) went on a 10-2 run to finish the first half, took a 35-21 lead at the break and allowed Creighton no closer than 13 the rest of the way.
Jahenns Manigat and Gregory Echenique both had 10 points for the Bluejays (23-15).
The Ducks finished seventh in the Pacific-10 Conference this season, then made it to the semifinals of the league tournament before losing to Washington. Creighton fell in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament after a fifth-place finish in the regular season.
Wichita State, another team from the Missouri Valley, will play for the NIT championship in New York Thursday against Alabama.
