GLENDALE, Ariz. — After spending an entire game playing catchup, Oregon came up just short on Saturday and saw its season end with a 77-76 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Oregon struggled to hold onto the ball in the first half. The Ducks committed 12 turnovers that resulted in 13 North Carolina points. Oregon also struggled to get its stars going — Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey combined for just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Oregon’s offense woke up a bit in the second half, but by that point Justin Jackson had taken over the game for the Tar Heels and made any sort of comeback impossible. Jackson drilled two contested 3-pointers and racked up nine points in the first seven minutes of the half.
The Ducks were stymied by a lack of success from 3-point range and shot just 7 of 26 from beyond the arc for the game.
After Dorsey made a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left, the Ducks called timeout. They forced an UNC miss then Keith Smith scored with six seconds left. Kennedy Meeks missed both ensuing free throws after the Ducks fouled him but couldn’t get an offensive rebound. Joel Berry II again missed both free throws for UNC but Meeks pulled down the board to end Oregon’s NCAA Tournament run.
Key Stats
Oregon:
Jordan Bell — 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting and 16 rebounds
Dylan Ennis — 18 points on 7 of 19 shooting and six rebounds
North Carolina
Justin Jackson — 22 points on 6 of 13 shooting
Kennedy Meeks — 25 points on 11 of 13 shooting, 14 rebounds
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