EUGENE, Ore. - University of Denver men's basketball junior guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored a team-high 18 points, but Oregon capitalized on second half free throw opportunities, as the Ducks downed the Pioneers 68-56 at the BTI Invitational at McArthur Court on Saturday night.

"Turning the ball over the first three possessions of the second half set the tone for the way the game went in the second half," head coach Joe Scott said. "We did a good job of bouncing back and hanging in there, but we didn't capitalize on our chances. You have to give credit to Oregon. They stuck with their game plan and played well."

In a game with 14 lead changes, Denver (0-2) led 51-50 with 8:03 remaining, but Oregon (2-0) went 28-for-37 (75.7 percent) from the free throw line, including 24-for-29 in the second half, to pull away in the final minutes.

Stafford hit 6-of-8 shots, including all three of his three-point attempts. Redshirt junior Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) scored 13 points, and junior forward Justin Coughlin (Yuma, Colo.) added 10 points. Freshman forward Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) led the Pioneers with five rebounds and added five points.

Denver trailed by as many as eight points in the first half but scored the final five points of the half to take a 32-28 lead into the break. DU went 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) from three-point range and 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from the free throw line in the first half.

Ducks forward Joevan Catron led all scorers with 20 points, and Malcolm Armstead added 15 points.

The Pioneers conclude the BTI Invitational on Sunday with a 4:30 p.m. MT matchup against North Dakota State.