With 2.8 seconds remaining on the clock, San Jose State senior Justin Graham converted a tough three-point play to put the Spartans up by three, allowing Oregon a chance to tie it with a desperation three-point shot.
The Ducks (3-1) inbounded the ball at half court with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, but E.J. Singler’s pass to senior Joevan Catron hit a defender’s head and landed in the hands of Jay-R Strowbridge. Strowbridge successfully got an attempt off, but it came up just short and Oregon was handed its first loss of the season.
Oregon struggled in several aspects of the game, but was able to hang with San Jose State in a back-and-forth battle throughout most of the contest, making it that much tougher to swallow the loss.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “I thought that coming into the game that we’d established some things throughout the week in practice, but we got beat on the boards and they really set the tone the first 10 minutes of the game with their offensive rebounding.”
For the first time all year, the Ducks took a 39-34 lead into halftime, but Altman’s squad was unable to build on the margin after intermission. Trailing by five with more than nine minutes remaining in the second half, the Ducks went on a 17-6 run to build a decent lead.
Rebounding and missed offensive opportunities eventually caught up with the Ducks, however, providing San Jose State with the opportunity to seal the game late. Tied at 72, Oregon had three straight possessions to go ahead, but the first two resulted in turnovers, and the third was a missed three-point attempt from junior point guard Malcolm Armstead.
A lack of ball security continued to plague the Ducks, with Armstead paving the way with a game-high six turnovers. Altman expects a lot out of Oregon’s leading returning scorer, as his play is crucial in making the Oregon offense succeed.
“He’s got to execute our offense a lot better than what he’s doing right now,” Altman said. “The turnovers probably hurt us more than anything. He’s just not making good basketball plays, but he’ll get it figured out. He’s got a long ways to go, but I think the thing that hurt him the most is that he missed a few shots early that were wide open and it just kind of messed with him.”
Offensively, Catron paced the Ducks with 25 points and nine rebounds in his 33 minutes of action. The Phoenix, Ill., native played his 100th career game in an Oregon uniform on Saturday, and his 20-point effort was the third time in four games this season that Catron has scored 20 or more.
“Just execution down the stretch,” Catron said of the loss. “And definitely rebounding throughout the game. That’s been a hard part for us for the passed two games, well actually the first four games we’ve been struggling to rebound the ball.”
The Ducks welcomed back junior Jeremy Jacob, who was sidelined from action in Oregon’s first three games after undergoing minor knee surgery. Altman and Jacob agreed he would play 15 minutes or less. He finished with nine points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of work.
Jacob said after the game his knee didn’t feel quite as well as he would have liked.
“A little rust,” Jacob said. “I only practiced twice in the last week. When we get back gelling, I think I’ll be alright.”
Junior Teondre Williams and Garrett Sim also finished in double figures for the Ducks, recording 10 and 11 points, respectively. It was the first time since Dec. 22, 2009 that Sim finished in double figures. He played a team-high 34 minutes, helping slow Spartan offensive standout Adrian Oliver, who overcame a 1-for-7 shooting performance in the first half to finish with 19 points, with 17 in the second half.
Oregon will host Texas Southern Tuesday night at McArthur Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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