Despite a late comeback, the Oregon Ducks (11-8, 2-4 Pac-12) were unable to beat the Pac-12 leading Washington Huskies (15-4, 6-0 Pac-12), losing Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena 61-56.

With this loss, Oregon falls to the bottom of an already weak Pac-12 conference. Oregon now faces an uphill battle if it wants a chance at the Pac-12 crown.

Here are three takeaways from Oregon’s loss:

Late Game Breakdowns

Oregon was trailing by as much as 12 in the second half when they sparked a run that nearly secured a victory.

The Ducks went on a 17-3 run over a six and a half minute span that notched them a 52-51 lead, their first since it was 2-0. Their offense was not the only thing clicking late in the game. Oregon caused Washington to commit six turnovers over a six minute span.

With the game tied at 56 and only 20 seconds left in the game, Oregon had a chance to win it.

Payton Pritchard brought the ball up the court and dribbled down to nine seconds on the clock. Pritchard, who was looking for Louis King to take a game winning shot, slipped, leading to a Jaylen Nowell steal.

“With this kind of loss it truly sucks,” senior forward Paul White said. “I was making sure that he [Payton Pritchard] doesn’t feel like this loss is on his shoulders”

Nowell was fouled by Pritchard at half court in the act of shooting, which gave him three free throws to win it.

The Kids Are Alright

Oregon’s freshmen stepped up big in an abysmal first half to keep their team afloat.
King, who finished with a team high 19 points, eventually got the Ducks up and running again when he hit a three-point-shot that ignited a 7-0 run for Oregon. That run brought them back within five points of Washington midway through the first half.
Francis Okoro, Miles Norris and King outscored their teammates 19-0 in the first half. The freshman outscored the veterans 37-19 for the game. Norris ended the game with a season high 10 points.
“They are doing a good job, they are making the adjustment,” head coach Dana Altman said. “I like their effort and I like their enthusiasm.”

Cold Streaks

The Ducks have been prone to going cold on the offensive-end during Pac-12 play and tonight was no different.

Oregon’s gone on game-altering cold streaks over four of its previous five games. Arizona State went on a 19-0 run to put the game out of reach, Arizona had an 11-4 run to nearly seal a comeback victory and UCLA went on a 15-6 run in the final minute of the game to defeat the Ducks.

The Ducks dug themselves into a hole from the beginning. After hitting their first shot, they went 0-for-7 in the following eight minutes of the game. Their first half of play ended on a four minute scoring drought when Oregon was unable to nail a single field goal.

The most devastating cold streak came in the last two minutes of the game where Oregon was unable to manufacture a single point. That led to a 10-0 Washington run that sealed another late game breakdown for Oregon.

“We’ve got to just keep our heads up, we just got to try to learn from it, just try to learn how to close out these types of games and when we do climb back on top, how we can stay on top,” said White.

Follow Gabriel on Twitter @gabe_ornelas