Ernie Kent saw it in his players’ eyes.
The Oregon head coach could tell that his team was just a step behind all game Saturday. He could see that the tank was leaning toward empty.
And because of this, he wasn’t at all amazed to see his Ducks lose to California, 65-56, in front of a disappointed, sold-out crowd of 9,087 at McArthur Court.
The Ducks’ 56 points marked their lowest point total of the season.
“I looked into the eyes of guys that wanted to get it done, and I saw a very fatigued team out there,” Kent said. “We just lacked the energy.”
The loss was yet another setback to an Oregon team that has now dropped seven of its last nine games. The Ducks’ 3-8 Pacific-10 Conference record (12-9 overall) has them in a three-way tie for sixth-place, and only one game ahead of cellar dwellers Washington State and Oregon State.
California (17-6, 8-3), meanwhile, is only two games behind front-runner Stanford and is brimming with confidence after winning 16 of its past 19 games. The Bears, who are most likely headed to the NCAA Tournament, didn’t play their best overall game but pulled away when they had to toward the end.
“It was not a pretty game, but the object is not to look good, but to play well and scrap with good defense,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said.
Kent compared California with his Oregon team that won 22 games last season and earned an invitation to the Big Dance, a feat that this year’s Ducks lose sight of with each defeat.
“They’re a good team that knows to grind out a basketball game, like where we were last year,” Kent said.
The most difficult part of this loss for the Ducks was that it was a winnable game. The teams were evenly matched for most of the contest, and Oregon took a 49-47 lead with 8:36 remaining when forward Bryan Bracey knocked home two of his team-high 13 points.
But then Cal’s A.J. Diggs converted a basket, followed by a Sean Lampley jumper and the tide was officially in the Bears’ favor. It was the beginning of a 10-1 run that put Cal up 57-50 at the 3:43 mark.
The remaining minutes consisted of too many missed opportunities for Oregon.
There was Bracey having the ball slip out of his hands and out of bounds. There was Freddie Jones getting the ball stolen right from him by Cal’s Brian Wethers. There was a James Davis missed three-pointer, followed by a Luke Ridnour wide-open missed layin and then a Bracey missed jumper to close out the game.
“As the game wore on, we wore down physically and mentally,” Kent said. “I don’t have a lot of answers.”
Oregon jumped out to an early 19-8 lead after guard Anthony Norwood banged home a trey with 9:54 to play in the first half. But then the Ducks went scoreless for the next 5:27, and Cal took advantage to get back in the game and close within four.
The Ducks extended their lead to seven, but the Bears’ Ryan Forehan-Kelly drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to send his team into the break only down 26-22.
Lampley, the Pac-10’s leading scorer, scored a game-high 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds amid the frequent double-team by the Oregon defense. Unlike many Cal games this year, however, he received strong help from teammates, including Joe Shipp with 12 points and Wethers with 10.
“It means a lot to the team and myself knowing that they don’t have to rely on me,” Lampley said. “We’re gelling as a team.”
Oregon appears to be doing the opposite, and now must find a way to salvage what is left in the final seven games and earn at least a spot in the NIT.
“We’re just tired of losing, especially in games we know we can win,” Ridnour said.