Oregon men’s basketball played just its second game in 26 days on Thursday, Feb. 4 in Matthew Knight Arena, losing 74-71 to the Cougars. 

Thursday’s game marked the first on the year for junior guard Will Richardson, who spent the last few months recovering from thumb surgery. Forward Eric Williams Jr. was the only inactive Duck (COVID-19) aside from center N’Faly Dante, who tore his ACL in late December. 

After two COVID-19-related program pauses in the last month, the Ducks looked rusty. The lack of practice time was evident as Oregon was sloppy on the offensive end, throwing inaccurate passes and fumbling easy catches, rebounds and loose balls. 

On the other end, Washington State picked apart the Ducks’ zone defense, using skip passes to find wide open shooters in its soft spots. 

Ten minutes into the game, the Cougars held a 19-13 lead with 12 of their points coming from beyond the arc. 

The Ducks had to be sharper, and they knew it. Players smacked their hands against the hardwood, the basket station and the ball in frustration as head coach Dana Altman looked on with discontent. 

With Richardson playing himself into game shape, Chandler Lawson facing early foul trouble and LJ Figueroa nursing a slight ankle sprain sustained early in the game, the Ducks’ leading scorers on the season, Chris Duarte (18.4) and Eugene Omoruyi (16.8), took control offensively. The duo converted a series of tough jumpers and contested layups, accounting for 10 of the team’s 13 points. 
Minutes later, a pair of Omoruyi free throws and a wing three-pointer from Duarte pulled the Ducks within a point, 19-18. Then, on the back of their scorching hot shooting from range, the Cougars rattled off an 11-3 run. 
After a layup by the Ducks’ Amauri Hardy, Washington State’s Isaac Bonton (18.5), the Pac-12’s second-highest scorer, converted a four-point play from the top of the key. The Cougars held a 34-23 lead with two and a half minutes to go in the first half. The Ducks responded with a series of free throws as they entered the locker room down five, 36-31. 

In the first half alone, Washington State hit 8-16 three-pointers, making just four non-three-point baskets. 

Oregon came out far more attuned to start the second half. A quick steal led to a Duarte fastbreak layup. On the next possession, Figueroa drained a three to tie the game at 36 apiece. 

But the energy was short lived as just moments later, Duarte skidded across the ground after chasing down a loose ball. Duarte yelled out in agony, grabbing at his right leg. After a few minutes on the ground, assistant coaches escorted the forward to the locker room, from which he would not return. 

The Ducks slogged on without their leading scorer, keeping the deficit within three for the next five minutes.  

With Washington State’s sustained three-point success, Oregon was forced to find a leg up elsewhere. Despite a distinct lack of size, the Ducks neutralized the Cougars’ front court and held a double-digit advantage on the boards throughout nearly the entirety of the half. Numerous rebounds led to run-outs and crucial second chance points for the Ducks.  

Without two key members of the Ducks’ wing depth in Williams Jr. and Duarte, Washington State found ways to score inside, bolstered by their perimeter threats. 

With 11 minutes to go, threes from Omoruyi and Hardy brought the game to 54-52, Cougars. 
Richardson, his shooting hand carefully wrapped in athletic tape, looked timid, often shying away from opportunities to shoot the ball. On one occasion, he slithered between two defenders with a series of crossovers before pulling up from midrange, only to see the ball slip upwards out of his hands. 

Both teams set up camp at the free throw line as the sound of the referee’s whistles rang out seemingly endlessly to the tune of 52 total fouls on the night. Omoruyi, who finished with a team-high 21 points, and Figueroa, who tallied a double-double, attacked the rim relentlessly. The duo combated key buckets from Bonton with free throws, keeping the game within reach. 

As the minutes ticked down, Hardy wove through the lane converting layups, his last coming at the 1:42 mark to cut the Cougars’ lead to 65-63. 

With 30 seconds left, Bonton, who finished with a game-high 23 points, delivered what would be the dagger, gliding through the lane and hitting a floater off the glass. It pushed Washington State’s lead to five, one that proved insurmountable despite a series of back-and-forth fouls and free throws. 

The Ducks have now lost three of their last four conference games. They sit in the middle of the conference with a distinct difference in games played due to their COVID-19 complications. 

Oregon returns to Matt Knight Arena Saturday to face Washington in a game that will more than likely be played without Duarte, who is third in the conference in points per game.