PORTLAND – Ernie Kent sat at the microphone in the basement of the Rose Garden, losing his voice and shaking his head. He couldn’t put his finger on what specifically caused Oregon’s problems against San Diego in Saturday’s Pape Jam. It might have been because there were so many.
Oregon lost 64-57 to San Diego mostly because of the Ducks’ poor first half shooting that carried well into the second half, and received zero points from two of its most important big men in their return from injuries. The Ducks, Kent said, never could find the right rhythm.
“When I talk about rhythm I thought there were some steals we could have had. The ball looks like it takes a funny bounce and when you think you got it it goes to them, and boom, they get a layup,” Kent said. “Thats rhythm. That is all rhythm and I felt like we were out of rhythm for whatever reason.”
Oregon (4-5) shot 35 percent in the game, converting on three fewer field goals despite shooting 17 more than the Toreros (5-6). Tajuan Porter led all scorers with 18 points and LeKendric Longmire added 12, but the biggest absence came from freshmen Michael Dunigan and Josh Crittle, who came back from injuries to shoot a combined 0-for-5 on the night with six rebounds in 29 total minutes.
After a first half when the Ducks scored just 17 points, Oregon started to find a semblance of its usual fast-paced scoring attack by scoring five points in the first three minutes. Oregon rediscovered its offense in the last 6:37 of the game, outscoring San Diego 20-14 during the stretch. The Ducks pulled within six on a three-pointer by Churchill Odia with 38 seconds left from the right corner, but five three throws by San Diego never let Oregon crawl back to within contention.
It was the continuation of a long night shooting. Oregon never led in the game, tying the score 2-2 in the first two minutes of the first half.
“If we shot the ball you get a little more energy, a little more momentum in the game,” Kent said. “We could never get on top of them. When you shoot it as bad as we shot it it’s going to be hard to get on top of teams.”
Both teams’ defense didn’t help the offensive mistakes. San Diego finished with three more turnovers than Oregon, 17, because of pressure from guards Garrett Sim, Kamyron Brown and Longmire, who four combined steals didn’t translate the pressure they kept on the San Diego guards. San Diego head coach Bill Grier said that pressure was what most concerned him coming into the game.
“This game needed to be played at our pace,” Grier said. “They really kind of hung together.”
In turn, San Diego was forced into their 17 turnovers yet could shot the ball well inside without Dunigan and Crittle to worry about on defense, leading to forward Gyno Pomare scoring 16 points with eight rebounds.
“They had a lot of interior presence down there,” Porter said. “Sometimes we got caught not on weakside help and they executed.”
Grier has had other troubles on his mind since the season began. Off a NCAA Tournament first round win over Connecticut last season, the Toreros returned all five starters before losing nearly every one to either injury or suspension. Rob Jones helped keep his team in the game early behind 14 points and six rebounds.
Oregon returns home to McArthur Court for the next five home games, starting with St. Mary’s on Wednesday.