Oregon men’s basketball dug itself a double-digit hole once again, and once again, was unable to climb back, dropping its fifth conference road game of the season to Arizona State, 77-72.

In front of a capacity crowd at Desert Financial Arena, the Ducks came out of the gates flat, as has been the case in most of their road games this season. A two-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining in the first half ballooned to 11 by halftime.

But it wouldn’t be a 2019-20 Oregon game without a furious second-half comeback, and Thursday night was no different. The Ducks mounted a 14-3 run to tie the game at 54 with 7:17 remaining, but career nights from ASU’s Alonzo Verge Jr. and Rob Edwards proved to be too much in the end.

Payton Pritchard headed the surge, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half, including a pair of deep threes to keep the Ducks within striking distance down the stretch. But with just over two minutes remaining and the Ducks trailing by five, Pritchard committed an ill-advised fifth foul at half-court. Without their leading scorer and go-to late-game option, the Ducks were unable to claw back in the game’s final moments.

For Arizona State, the win marked its sixth in a row and could go a long way toward its rapid late-season push for an NCAA Tournament bid.

For Oregon, Thursday was just another loss in a growing list of underwhelming performances on the road. That won’t get any easier, as the Ducks will travel south to Tucson to face Nico Mannion, Zeke Nnaji and No. 24 Arizona at what’s sure to be a raucous McKale Center on Saturday.