In the birthplace of basketball, the Oregon men played quite a basketball game.
The Ducks went down to the wire with the Massachusetts Minutemen and lost their first game of the season, 62-58, in Springfield, Mass., on Tuesday night. Oregon (4-1 overall) shot a dismal 35.8 percent from the floor and trailed for much of the second half, but still had chances to win in the final seconds.
With 30 seconds left and Oregon down by one point, forward Robert Johnson forced a turnover on the Massachusetts end and Ducks guard Luke Ridnour started a fast break. But Ridnour passed the ball off the foot of UMass guard Shannon Crook, who Ridnour then fouled.
Crooks made both shots of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left, putting the Minutemen up by three points. On Oregon’s next possession, forward Luke Jackson tried to find Anthony Lever in the corner for a trey, but threw the ball directly to UMass center Kitwana Rhymer with 3.8 seconds remaining. Lever fouled Rhymer, who made one shot of his one-and-one to end Oregon’s hopes for a win.
“We put ourselves in position to make some big shots and we just didn’t get it done,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent told KUGN radio after the game. “We just need to learn from this and move on.”
The Ducks started the game strong, and jumped out to a 19-8 lead halfway through the first half. The game had all the earmarks of another Oregon blowout, as the team was in a noticeable offensive rhythm. But UMass stormed back when Oregon started missing shots toward the end of the first frame, and the Minutemen went on a 19-5 run over a period of almost seven minutes to take the lead at 29-28.
“We shot ourselves in the foot and took some bad shots,” Kent said. “The whole momentum changed at the end of the first half, and that gave them some confidence which they carried over into the second half.”
Massachusetts led for much of the second half, although the lead changed five times in the last seven minutes. UMass took the lead for good on a Micah Brand lay-in with 1:09 left.
Oregon was killed from the outside Tuesday night. Crooks scored a team-high 13 points, while guards Eric Williams and Raheim Lamb scored nine points each.
The Oregon defense was able to neutralize Massachusetts’ big men, and held Rhymer to only seven points after he netted 16 against Marist on Saturday. Oregon post Chris Christoffersen continued to shine, as he scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
“He had a good game, but he got a little fatigued out there,” Kent said. “Overall it was a learning experience for him.”
The Ducks will return to the West Coast to face Portland in the Rose City on Sunday. That game will tip off at 3 p.m.