Down by one with less than a minute remaining, the Ducks marched up the floor in search of heroics. As point guard Will Richardson became engulfed by defenders under the basket, he looked to the wing where he found a wide open Quincy Guerrier. Guerrier perfected the catch-and-shoot, delivering a flawless corner 3 to put the Ducks up 2 with 25 seconds remaining.
Matthew Knight Arena exploded. The floor, seats and backboards shook as if by divine power. But soon, it was made eerily silent and completely still by the hand of USC guard Drew Peterson, who stamped out the Ducks’ dreams with a game-winning 3.
Game-leading guard Peterson and the No. 16 USC Trojans (25-4, 14-4 Pac-12) defeated the Ducks (18-11, 11-7 Pac-12) 70-69 in Eugene on Saturday.
Midway through the first half, Ducks’ head coach Dana Altman paced the sideline, shaking his head in bewilderment. Oregon’s mistakes, miscues and near silence from 3 gave way to a 14-2 Trojan run. Trailing by 11, one thing was painstakingly clear: Something needed to change, and fast.
Oregon found answers in its supporting cast. A 3-pointer from guard De’Vion Harmon got the pit crew on its feet, and an alley-oop dunk from Eric Williams Jr. incited a 13-0 Oregon run in the following minutes. By the half, Oregon was hanging on by a thread with a 32-31 lead.
The Trojans’ strong shooting helped them weather the storm against Oregon’s tenacious and opportunistic play. Despite its timely and lengthy runs, Oregon remained locked in a dogfight with the Trojans up until the final buzzer.
The Trojans shot a prolific 42% from 3, in stark contrast to the Ducks 26%.
“Our guards, we’ve kind of depended on them all year to be scoring threats, and they didn’t shoot it well tonight,” Altman said. “We just didn’t get the looks, didn’t get the shots to fall.”
But what the Ducks couldn’t do from 3, they made up for in transition, seizing every opportunity to win boards, create turnovers and break down the floor for points.
Oregon forced a much-needed 11 turnovers on Saturday. Richardson and WIlliams Jr. served as critical linchpins to the Ducks’ transition attack, using their athleticism to cut down the lane and kick the ball across the paint to open scorers.
N’Faly Dante and Quincy Guerrier were the primary beneficiaries. The two accounted for 28 of the team’s points, the vast majority of which came from the paint. Guerrier led the Ducks with 15 points.
“I thought he did some really good things on the boards, and obviously he hit a few shots for us which was really big for us,” Altman said. “I thought he played really well.”
The Ducks paint presence was proficient on the defensive side as well. Guerrier was a force, putting pressure on USC’s Isaiah Mobley and Chevez Goodwin through physical and disciplined play. He led the Ducks in rebounds, with 10 on the night.
The bulk of USC’s points came in the soft spots of the Oregon defensive scheme, from mid-range. Peterson shot 50% from the field, good for a team-high 20 points.
The Ducks’ shortcoming in Matthew Knight on Saturday has hefty implications. What was once an outside chance at a March Madness appearance has spiraled further. If the Ducks will see the tournament, they’ll almost certainly need a Pac-12 title first.
The team will look to right the ship as they take on Washington in Seattle next Thursday.
