Oregon men’s basketball head coach Ernie Kent will have nightmares, and every night it will be the same dream.
The Ducks are in a close game, and there are seconds left. An Oregon guard dribbles upcourt, looks for Anthony Lever, throws it to an opposing player, that player is fouled and then hits the game-winning free throw.
The Ducks throw away the game.
Oregon (4-2 overall) suffered its second straight close loss Sunday afternoon, this one a 79-78 heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Portland Pilots (3-2) in the Rose City. The Ducks led for most of the final minute, but the Pilots hit key shots down the stretch to win the contest.
Portland’s Casey Frandsen and Adam Quick hit back-to-back three pointers with less than 30 seconds in the contest to tie the score at 78. On the Ducks’ next possession, with 9.8 seconds left, Oregon point guard Luke Ridnour dribbled up the court, tried to find Lever but threw the ball to Portland’s Coky Rochin instead. Rochin was then fouled by Lever. The play was similar to one that caused Oregon’s downfall at Massachusetts on Tuesday.
Rochin missed his first free throw, but made the back end to put the Pilots up for good. Oregon had one more chance, but a James Davis three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the backboard and the rim before falling off the side of the basket.
“They just battled their tails off and fought us the whole game,” Kent told KUGN radio, referring to the play of the Pilots. “We talked about this all week, how this was a big game on their schedule.”
The game was close throughout. Portland went on a run to end the first half and entered the break with a 40-33 lead. But the Ducks came out hot in the second half, and went on a 13-3 run to take the lead at 46-43 with 15 minutes left. The teams battled from that point, often trading baskets and the lead as they wound down to the exciting finish.
“They got it in the first half, and they gained a tremendous amount of confidence,” Kent said. “We recaptured the momentum in the second half and then gave it right back to them with some key turnovers and they came at us again.”
Oregon got a spectacular offensive effort from sophomore guard Luke Jackson, who scored a career-high 28 points in the contest. He added seven rebounds to his point total. Ridnour scored 17 points, one short of his career high, and also had seven assists.
The spectacular play of the Ducks’ sophomores was countered by the poor play of their seniors. Guard Freddie Jones scored only six points in 21 minutes of floor time, as he was in foul trouble the entire game. He fouled out with a minute left. Center Chris Christoffersen also scored six points, after a double-double at UMass last week.
“There are some guys that I felt, in the last couple games, could have given better production and performance than they did,” Kent said.
The win was the first for the Pilots in the series since 1964. The streak spanned 20 straight Oregon victories.
The Ducks have a week to recover before they hit the road again to play Minnesota on Monday. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. PST.