In its first road game of the Pacific-10 Conference season Thursday night at California, the Oregon men’s basketball team kept looking for Haas Pavilion’s hoop.
The Ducks never found it.
Oregon (10-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-10) made only 20 of 62 shots from the floor in its 78-62 blowout loss at the hands of the Golden Bears (10-4, 2-1).
“This team took us apart tonight,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kenttold KUGN. “We lost our composure.”
The Ducks started losing that all-so important composure with more than three minutes to play in the first half. That’s when Cal’s big men, sophomore center Nick Vander Laan and junior forward Solomon Hughes, started beating Oregon in the post.
With 3:22 on the clock in the first half, the Ducks’ Chris Christoffersen threw a pass away for Oregon’s ninth turnover of the game. On the next possession, Vander Laan floated a shot over the outstretched arms of Christoffersen to slice Oregon’s lead–which had been as large as five–to one point.
“We shouldn’t have let Vander Laan and Hughes go off on us like that,” Kent said.
After Golden Bears guard Dennis Gates hit a three-pointer and forward Sean Lampley scored on back-to-back possessions, guard Shantay Legans hit an off-balance jumper to beat the halftime buzzer and give Cal a 38-33 halftime lead.
“We gave them too much momentum,” Kent said. “Even though they were only leading by five at halftime, we never really regained our composure.”
Oregon scored only four points in the first 9:30 of the second half, as Cal went on an 18-4 run that would put the game away for good. The Ducks made only one field goal during that stretch, and missed 11.
Vander Laan and Hughes combined for 20 points, as Oregon’s big men committed foul upon foul while trying to stop them. Duck centers Julius Hicks and Flo Hartenstein both fouled out of the game, and forward Bryan Bracey played the final 10 minutes of the game with four fouls but never committed his fifth.
“Chris and Flo could have done some more out there,” Kent said. “[Cal] dominated in the paint.”
Kent will take some positives into Saturday’s matchup with No. 1 Stanford, which will be televised on ABC at 3 p.m.
The coach was pleased with the efforts of freshmen guards Luke Jackson and Luke Ridnour. Jackson led all Ducks in scoring with 12 points, while Ridnour followed closely with 11.
The freshmen almost single-handedly brought the Ducks back into the game after Cal’s big run. With 10:21 on the clock in the second half, Ridnour hit back-to-back NBA-range three-pointers to bring the Ducks within 15 points. After exchanging baskets, Jackson hit a long three to cut the lead to 12, but Cal’s Legans answered with a trey and the Ducks never got closer.
“The two young guys did a good job of keeping their energy up,” Kent said.
Ultimately, Kent said, the Ducks’ loss came down to their poor shooting. Oregon’s 32 percent field goal percentage was their lowest total of the season.
“The poor shooting had a little to do with the crowd; it had a little to do with rushing our shots,” Kent said. “But we just weren’t knocking down shots we normally knock down.”
The Ducks now face the unenviable task of bouncing back against the top-ranked Cardinal.