Dillon Brooks saw an opening with five seconds left and took it.
With No. 24 Oregon trailing Boise State 74-72 on the final possession, Brooks drove the left side of the lane, only to come up short on a contested layup attempt as the buzzer sounded. Brooks was visibly upset that a foul wasn’t called and he might’ve had a point.
Boise State forward Nick Duncan moved underneath Brooks, clearly within the the restricted circle and made contact with Brooks as the shot went up. The baseline official raised his hand as if to call a foul, but elected not to blow the whistle.
The Ducks had a right to protest the non-call on the final possession, but the officials weren’t to blame for the loss.
Oregon struggled to make shots for long stretches of Saturday’s road contest. After starting the game 8 for 10, the Ducks hit just 2 of 18 shots for the remainder of the first half, and trailed 41-28 at the break.
Boise State pushed their lead to as much as 17 points in the second half, but Oregon fought its way back into the game in the last few minutes. Oregon scored seven unanswered in the final 1:30 of the game, getting threes from Brooks and Elgin Cook and a Kendall Small made free throw. Boise State guard Anthony Drmic, who had a team-high 19 points, committed two costly turnovers down the stretch that nearly lost the game for the Broncos.
Jordan Bell made his much-anticipated return to the Ducks on Saturday. Nursing a foot injury, the 6-foot-9 forward sat out the first eight games of the season. Bell finished with four points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Brooks tied a career high with 26 points, including 5 for 10 three-pointers, showing consistency from deep that has eluded Brooks in the past.
After going 6-0 at home with important wins over Baylor and Valparaiso, the Ducks have come back down to earth. Combined with a 80-69 loss to UNLV on Dec. 4, Oregon has lost two of three games away from Matthew Knight Arena.
Fortunately for the Ducks, they now return home to play two more non-conference games. Next up, Oregon faces UC Irvine on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner