EUGENE, Ore. -- An embarrassing road loss to Baylor may prove to be a valuable lesson for Oregon.If the fourth-ranked Ducks want to meet their own lofty expectations, theyll have to earn it on the boards.Two days after losing by 17 points to the unranked Bears, Chris Boucher had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Oregon to its 27th consecutive home victory, 76-54 over Valparaiso on Thursday night.Boucher was coming off a 12-point, two-rebound performance against Baylor.His activity allowed him to him to have the 25 points, Oregon coach Dana Altman said. He had no defensive rebounds the other night and we lost the rebounding battle by 11.Tonight we won it by 13, and that was the difference in the game.Jordan Bell added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks (2-1), who took control early in the second half with an 11-4 run fueled by Bells eight points to open a 52-38 lead. Bell scored 12 points in the second half as Oregon shot 15 of 27 from the field.That was our goal, just to go inside, Bell said. Against Baylor we went 3 for 21 at the 3-point line, so we just wanted to go inside.Alec Peters led the Crusaders (3-1) with 24 points to become the schools second-leading career scorer. Tevonn Walker added 12 points.Valparaiso shot just 23.3 percent in the second half as Peters was its only starter to make more than half of his attempts. The Crusaders finished 4 of 21 from 3-point range.I think its pretty evident that we are not shooting the ball very well, Valparaiso coach Matt Lottich said, and to beat a team like Oregon youre going to have to hit shots from the outside.Backup freshman point guard Payton Pritchard had nine points and five assists for the Ducks, who led by as many as 25 points in the second half.Oregon had a 40-27 rebounding edge and blocked six shots.Altman said his teams size and rebounding ability should be what sets the Ducks apart.If youre not beating people on the boards, youre not taking advantage of your athleticism, he said. Our goal should be a plus-eight or -nine on those boards for the season, and if we do that, itll be really positive for our team.The Ducks played again without preseason All-America Dillon Brooks, who continues to recover from offseason foot surgery. Altman was noncommittal about the junior forwards availability for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational when Oregon opens play Monday against Georgetown.I dont know if hell play in Maui, Altman said, and if he does, it wont be very much.BIG PICTUREValparaiso: Coming off a 30-win season and deep run in the NIT, the Crusaders were held 28 points below their season average while shooting just 32.1 percent from the field against the Ducks.Oregon: The Ducks likely will slip in Mondays poll off their 66-49 loss at Baylor, but they may regain Brooks services while in Hawaii.POLL IMPLICATIONSDespite Thursday nights win, Oregons best-ever No. 4 ranking likely will take a hit after its 66-49 road loss to unranked Baylor on Tuesday.STAT OF THE NIGHTBoucher, who has scored in all 38 games hes played at Oregon, had 18 points by halftime and missed his career high by one.HIGHLIGHT REELThough not known for his ball-handling, the 6-foot-10 Boucher flashed some nifty moves when he picked off a cross-court pass, dodged a Crusader at mid-court, dipped inside another off the dribble and smoothly threw down a one-handed dunk in the first half to cap a 9-0 run.UP NEXTValparaiso plays Alabama on Monday in Las Vegas at the four-team MGM Grand Main Event. The Crusaders will face either BYU or Saint Louis on Wednesday before heading home.Oregon heads to Hawaii to play Georgetown on Monday in the first round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Ducks will face either No. 9 Wisconsin or Tennessee on Tuesday. ETwaun Moore Pelicans Jersey . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Jahlil Okafor Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.shoppelicansonline.com/Authentic-Anthony-Davis-Pelicans-Jersey/ . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. 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Flanker Guy Mercer has been named Baths club captain for the new Aviva Premiership season, with England fly-half George Ford appointed his understudy.England playmaker Ford has assumed the vice-captaincy role, reaffirming his importance to the Blue, Black and Whites.Ford was said to have been heavily unsettled by father Mikes departure from the clubs coaching staff at the tail-end of last term but Baths new rugby director, Todd Blackadder, has handed the 23-year-old the pivotal role, underlining the England fly-halfs renewed focus at the Recreation Ground.Blackadder said of new skipper Mercer: Guy is a terrific player who knows Bath Rugby inside and out, which is an invaluable resource in a captain.He works tremendously hard both on and off the pitch and its that work ethic, combined with his personality, which has earned him the respect of his team and the supporters.ddddddddddddWere fortunate to have a strong core of leaders within the squad who will also play their part in what will be a big season for us, which is very pleasing from a coachs perspective.Former King Edwards School pupil Mercer graduated through the Bath academy and has racked up more than 100 club appearances since 2011.This is a huge honour for me, Mercer said. I grew up watching Bath, so to play for them was always a huge ambition of mine, and now to have been asked to lead the players makes me incredibly proud.Im really excited to be part of building the culture here at the club, and moving forward as a group. Theres a lot to look forward to, and the players cant wait to get the season started. ' ' '