There were a few new faces in uniform for Oregon Monday night.

It was a familiar one, however, who had himself a career night.

Sophomore forward Kwame Evans Jr. had 23 points to lead the Ducks to a 91-76 win against UC Riverside inside Matthew Knight Arena.

A crowd of 5,494 was on hand for Oregon's season opener and Evans helped send them home happy as he scored a career best on 8-of-15 shooting overall, 2-of-5 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line in 20 minutes of playing time. He was second on the team with six rebounds.

"He's working harder, he's bringing more effort to practice, and when he plays hard he's really talented," coach Dan Altman said.

Evans played in all 36 games last season and made 29 starts. He averaged 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks in 22.5 minutes. His previous career-high for scoring was 22 points, which he did twice last season – once against USC and once against Oregon State.

"I mean, KJ's really talented," point guard Jackson Shelstad said. "He's got all the tools and he's worked his butt off this offseason. He's put on some muscle, he's in the gym every day. I'm just proud of him. He played really hard tonight."

Starters carry the load for Oregon

Evans was back in the starting lineup Monday alongside Shelstad, veteran center Nate Bittle and newcomers TJ Bamba and Brandon Angel at guard and forward, respectively.

Those five scored 77 points combined with all but Shelstad hitting double digits.

Bittle, who missed 31 games last season as he dealt with a broken wrist in November and December and an illness over the final two months, had a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

"Nate's made a really big jump," Altman said. "He's in a really good place. He's listening, he takes criticism, he tries to turn it around. He just needs to keep playing hard."

Angel, a transfer from Stanford, scored 17 on 5-of-6 shooting. He was also 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Bamba, a transfer from Villanova via Washington State, had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Shelstad, a preseason all-Big-Ten selection, had nine points on 4-of-9 shooting, three assists and no turnovers.

"I think our chemistry's looking really good, moving the ball, just playing fast," Shelstad said. " ... I think you guys saw how deep our team is tonight and we're just gonna try to keep playing that way."

Ducks dominate the stats

Evans had a team-high 12 points in the first half as the Ducks built a 51-36 advantage.

The Highlanders twice cut Oregon's lead to seven points in the second half before the Ducks closed out the final six minutes with a 16-8 run.

Overall, Oregon shot 50% from field, outrebounded UC Riverside 45-29 and had just eight turnovers to 16 assists.

"Everybody's expectations are high," Altman said. "So, we gotta keep it in perspective. It's a home game, a first game, we scored some buckets but gave some easy ones up. ... I think the guys know it's a long season. One of 31 games that we're guaranteed, so a lot of work to do."

Up next for Oregon

The Ducks' nonconference season picks back up on Friday when Oregon plays Montana at 7 p.m. Friday in Matthew Knight Arena.

The Grizzlies (1-0) opened their season with a 92-61 win against the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @chansen_RG.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon men's basketball opens season with win vs UC Riverside