Saturday’s drought of only four points during a nine-minute stretch late in the first half proved to be too much for Oregon to overcome as it lost to No. 10 Washington 78-59.
Oregon (10-9 overall, 4-3 Pacific-10 Conference) led by four points after Brandon Lincoln nailed a three-pointer with 9:20 remaining in the opening half, but found the bottom of the net only four times for the rest of the half. A couple of baskets by Lincoln, who scored once with 6:11 and another time with 3:46, were the only Ducks’ points scored during a nine-minute stretch.
“For about the first 13, 14, 15 minutes of the game we had it where we wanted it. It was over a course of about five minutes … which they got second-chance points, point-blank at the hole, where we do a good job defensively and then they get a rebound putback,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
Washington (16-2, 5-2) used a 21-4 run during that time to build a double-digit lead, which they never relinquished. With 18.3 seconds remaining in the first half, Ivan Johnson made the front end of a one-on-one at the free-throw line and Malik Hairston scored on a rebound after the second free throw missed to cut the deficit to 10 and that was as close as the Ducks would get.
Washington’s Brandon Roy, who scored 15 points in the opening half, made two free throws on the ensuing possession to boost the Huskies’ halftime lead to 39-27. The rebounding edge went to Washington in the first half, 20-12, and continued throughout the game.
When the final horn sounded, Washington had scored 16 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds. It also outrebounded the Ducks 42-26.
Dominating on the glass wasn’t the only area where the Huskies cleaned up. They made 52 percent from the floor to Oregon’s 39.
“We had, in that first half, seven point-blank layups where, yeah you got bumped or whatever, but you’ve got to finish those plays when you can get point-blank to the hole,” Kent said of the first half trend.
“I thought there were another four, five or six layups that were missing,” Kent said of the second half. “If you score your layups it comes down to a much closer ball game. Go get a three-point play, go through and score the basketball, and we didn’t do a good job of that.”
Despite the shooting and rebounding woes, Oregon went on a 16-6 run to climb within 11 points late in the game. With 6:01 remaining and the possibility to close within single digits, Bryce Taylor missed the front end of a one-on-one at the free-throw line. The Ducks made a stop defensively, but turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation. Washington went on a 10-0 run during the following four minutes to pull away.
Hairston, who scored Oregon’s first nine points of the game, led the Ducks with 17 points. Lincoln followed with 12 points and Taylor rounded out the Ducks in double figures with 11.
The Huskies’ three seniors led them, combining to nearly outscore the Ducks. Jamaal Williams made 10 of 14 field goals for 20 points, followed by Roy with 19 and Bobby Jones with 15.
“Hopefully we can regain our composure, go back home feeling good about the split, regain our confidence and go back to battle again in Mac Court and protect that home court,” Kent said.
Oregon hosts No. 18 UCLA (15-4, 5-2) Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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