University of Oregon
25-12
Virginia
31-3
Clock Strikes Midnight for Ducks
03/28/19 | Men's Basketball
The Oregon men's basketball team's incredible postseason run came to an end on Thursday night, as the Ducks fell to Virginia, 53-49, in the Sweet Sixteen.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A 12 seed losing in the Sweet Sixteen is to be expected, but in Oregon's case, it didn't feel that way.
In a season filled with highs and lows, crippling uncertainty at some points and exuberant triumphs at others, Oregon emerged as one of the best basketball teams in the nation when everyone least expected it. It's what made the Ducks' run so special, but also what made it sting when they fell to top-seeded Virginia, 53-49, at the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday night.
There is something to be said about a team who can come together at their lowest-of-lows to rip off 10-straight wins, six coming in season-ending scenarios, and then shine on college basketball's biggest stage.
"For the way we turned around this season ... we're going to look at that as a positive," said Payton Pritchard. "And me personally, I will always remember this team and the run we made."
Won't we all.
How It Happened: Oregon (25-13) came out playing their own game. The Ducks forced the Cavaliers (32-3) into a missed shot on their first possession, then went down on the other end where Payton Pritchard found Louis King for a three.
Virginia answered with some stifling defense that bullied Oregon into taking tough jumpshots, giving the Cavaliers a 7-3 lead at the first media timeout.
Out of the huddle, Ehab Amin checked into the game and automatically gave the Ducks a spark off the bench. Following a Pritchard layup, the senior hit a three to tie things up, 7-7, then a few plays later Amin hit another three and a layup to give the Ducks a 13-10 edge with 7:58 remaining.
Kenny Wooten capped off a 15-5 Oregon run with an alley-oop from Will Richardson to put the Ducks up by five, 18-13. But the game of runs favored Virginia to end the half, as the Cavaliers put up 17 points in the final five minutes to hand the Ducks their largest halftime deficit in 11 games, 30-22.
Paul White got things going for Oregon early in the second frame. The senior hit a three-pointer on Oregon's first possession of the half, then a couple minutes later, fueled a 7-0 Oregon run to get the Ducks within one, 35-34, with 14:47 remaining.
From there, both teams traded shots, going back and forth. Oregon surged ahead momentarily, taking a 42-40 lead off a Louis King three-pointer with 5:43 left to play.
But Virginia wasn't dubbed a one seed for nothing. The Cavaliers outscored the Ducks 11-4 in the final minutes to secure the victory and advance to the Elite Eight.
Who Stood Out: Louis King had a team-high 16 points paired with four rebounds ... Payton Pritchard tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists on the night ... Paul White also scored in double digits with 10 points. The senior also grabbed six rebounds and three steals ... Ehab Amin came off the bench for eight points and four rebounds.
Notable: After clocking all 40 minutes against Virginia, Payton Pritchard has played more minutes than any other player in Division I this season. He's played in 1,348 minutes and passed Javon Bess of Saint Louis on Thursday, who played in 1,322 minutes this year ... Pritchard's four assists give him 175 for the season, which ranks fourth in UO single-season history ... With one steal tonight, Ehab Amin has entered the UO single-season list with 55 on the year ... Pritchard has passed Charlie Warren (1,301/1959-62) for 19th in UO career scoring and finished the night with 1,303 career points.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, Head Coach
"We got rushed a little bit there and just we had poor possessions. And I told the guys in the locker room, I let them down there. We needed to have some good possessions. We fought our way back. We were in good position, and offensively, you know, we had a couple turnovers, couple late shot clocks where we just threw it up. Just bad possessions"
Paul White, Senior
"People coming to terms with that this is the last game of the season ... I said a couple things to the guys in the locker room, just telling them, if anything, the character that we showed kind of speaks more volumes than the results that happened tonight. So, you know, we really slugged it out and I think this team going forward is going to be a tremendous team.
