Thursday, January 18
Eugene, OR
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
12-7, 2-4
70
vs
75
USC
14-6, 5-2
1
2
F
USC
36
39
75
Oregon
35
35
70
Ducks See One Slip Away Late To USC
01/18/18 | Men's Basketball
Oregon led inside three minutes to play Thursday, but a couple of good looks at the basket didn't fall and USC escaped with a 75-70 win.
EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon men's basketball team rallied back from an early hole and had a couple of late leads during a back-and-forth second half Thursday, before Southern California pulled it out to end a 14-game losing streak in the series with the Ducks, 75-70, before 9,202 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
Five days after a similar scenario played out in a loss at Arizona, the Ducks again had a lead in the waning minutes but couldn't hold it. "We let that one slip," UO sophomore Payton Pritchard said. "But we keep letting ones slip. … We're not getting rebounds when we need to. We're just doing the little things wrong."
How It Happened: After fighting back from a double-digit deficit, the Ducks took a 38-36 lead on a three-point play by MiKyle McIntosh to open the second half. That set the tone for a seesaw 20 minutes in which the lead went back and forth. Baskets by Pritchard and Troy Brown Jr. gave Oregon a 49-45 lead, but USC retook the lead on a three-pointer by Bennie Boatwright, and went up 52-49 with a basket after a UO turnover — a sequence UO coach Dana Altman mentioned postgame as one of the many short bursts that ultimately led to the Ducks' demise.
Another came after Oregon's last lead, supplied by an Elijah Brown three-pointer for a 68-66 advantage with 2:52 left. After the teams traded turnovers, USC scored to tie it. Coming out of a timeout, Paul White's three-pointer rolled around the rim and out, the Trojans went up 69-68 with a free thrown, and Pritchard made an explosive cut to the rim but had his bank shot off the glass catch iron and fall out. The Trojans continued to pad the lead at the free-throw line, while Oregon saw its last gasp — a three-pointer by Pritchard with USC up 73-70 and 16 seconds left — also miss.
"They just got us in the last four minutes," Pritchard said. "Right now we're only playing 36 minutes; we need to play 40 minutes. I don't feel like we took a step back. But it just comes down to wins and losses, and we haven't been finishing."
Truth be told, the Ducks haven't been starting well of late, either. They came all the way back to complete an upset at Arizona State last week, but a slow start contributed to the loss at Arizona, and again Thursday. Oregon led 6-2 early, as USC missed its first eight shots. But the Trojans responded by making their next seven in a row, going on a 14-0 run while the Ducks went 6:18 between field goals. The surge put USC ahead 16-6, and Oregon spent the rest of the half clawing its way back into the game.
"I think it came down to the 14 real easy points we gave them in the first half," Altman said. "… It's frustrating for everybody. We had a long streak over these guys, and we should have continued it. We just gotta fight through it. Everybody's judged by how you fight through adversity, and we've got to do a better job."
Who Stood Out: Pritchard continued the momentum he built during the Arizona trip, leading the Ducks with 18 points and seven assists. He helped set the tone on a night the Ducks had 20 assists on 26 field goals, including 13-of-13 in the second half. White added 14 points, including 10 straight during Oregon's furious first-half comeback. Troy Brown had 12 points, although just one rebound, six off his average. McIntosh finished with a double-double, 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Elijah Brown had five assists to go along with a couple key late three-pointers.
What It Means: The game felt like a microcosm of Oregon's season so far — the Ducks can hang with most anybody on most nights, but their margin of error is slim, and if they fail to make a couple of key plays, it can get away from them.
Up Next: The Ducks remain at home to host UCLA on Saturday (7:15 p.m. PT, ESPN).
Five days after a similar scenario played out in a loss at Arizona, the Ducks again had a lead in the waning minutes but couldn't hold it. "We let that one slip," UO sophomore Payton Pritchard said. "But we keep letting ones slip. … We're not getting rebounds when we need to. We're just doing the little things wrong."
How It Happened: After fighting back from a double-digit deficit, the Ducks took a 38-36 lead on a three-point play by MiKyle McIntosh to open the second half. That set the tone for a seesaw 20 minutes in which the lead went back and forth. Baskets by Pritchard and Troy Brown Jr. gave Oregon a 49-45 lead, but USC retook the lead on a three-pointer by Bennie Boatwright, and went up 52-49 with a basket after a UO turnover — a sequence UO coach Dana Altman mentioned postgame as one of the many short bursts that ultimately led to the Ducks' demise.
Another came after Oregon's last lead, supplied by an Elijah Brown three-pointer for a 68-66 advantage with 2:52 left. After the teams traded turnovers, USC scored to tie it. Coming out of a timeout, Paul White's three-pointer rolled around the rim and out, the Trojans went up 69-68 with a free thrown, and Pritchard made an explosive cut to the rim but had his bank shot off the glass catch iron and fall out. The Trojans continued to pad the lead at the free-throw line, while Oregon saw its last gasp — a three-pointer by Pritchard with USC up 73-70 and 16 seconds left — also miss.
"They just got us in the last four minutes," Pritchard said. "Right now we're only playing 36 minutes; we need to play 40 minutes. I don't feel like we took a step back. But it just comes down to wins and losses, and we haven't been finishing."
Truth be told, the Ducks haven't been starting well of late, either. They came all the way back to complete an upset at Arizona State last week, but a slow start contributed to the loss at Arizona, and again Thursday. Oregon led 6-2 early, as USC missed its first eight shots. But the Trojans responded by making their next seven in a row, going on a 14-0 run while the Ducks went 6:18 between field goals. The surge put USC ahead 16-6, and Oregon spent the rest of the half clawing its way back into the game.
"I think it came down to the 14 real easy points we gave them in the first half," Altman said. "… It's frustrating for everybody. We had a long streak over these guys, and we should have continued it. We just gotta fight through it. Everybody's judged by how you fight through adversity, and we've got to do a better job."
Who Stood Out: Pritchard continued the momentum he built during the Arizona trip, leading the Ducks with 18 points and seven assists. He helped set the tone on a night the Ducks had 20 assists on 26 field goals, including 13-of-13 in the second half. White added 14 points, including 10 straight during Oregon's furious first-half comeback. Troy Brown had 12 points, although just one rebound, six off his average. McIntosh finished with a double-double, 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Elijah Brown had five assists to go along with a couple key late three-pointers.
What It Means: The game felt like a microcosm of Oregon's season so far — the Ducks can hang with most anybody on most nights, but their margin of error is slim, and if they fail to make a couple of key plays, it can get away from them.
Up Next: The Ducks remain at home to host UCLA on Saturday (7:15 p.m. PT, ESPN).
Team Stats
USC
ORE
FG%
.441
.481
3FG%
.350
.304
FT%
.762
1.000
RB
36
26
TO
12
12
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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