The story stayed the same for the Oregon men’s basketball team on Thursday night. The Ducks’ defense struggled and an opposing guard torched them in their hard-fought 80-76 loss to Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. Oregon (13-5, 1-5 Pac-12) has now lost five straight games.
For the fourth time during the losing streak, Oregon allowed the other team to make over 50 percent of its shots. But those other efficient games by Oregon’s opponents weren’t as prolific as Washington’s on Thursday. The Huskies (12-8, 4-3) made 57.8 percent of their shots, including 69.6 percent in the second half. They also shot 58.3 percent on three-pointers.
Washington guard C.J. Wilcox, like he has all season, played brilliantly for the Huskies. He scored 23 points on 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 on three-pointers. His last three was the dagger, putting Washington up 76-72 with 44 seconds left in the game. Three was a magic number for Wilcox, who also contributed three rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals.
“We made a mistake a couple times on screens and he (Wilcox) made us pay every time, then he hit the big shot there late,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman told reporters after the game. “He was the difference in the game, he was the best player on the floor and you know he made us pay.”
The Ducks made a couple of changes to their starting lineup before the game. Guard Dominic Artis and forward Ben Carter, who were both suspended for nine games to begin the season, started their first games of the year for Oregon, but neither made much of an impact against Washington. They combined to score four points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Oregon guard Joseph Young got out of his scoring slump (five points in each of the last two games) but still struggled with his shooting efficiency. He led the Ducks with 18 points, albeit on 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) shooting. As a team, the Ducks shot 42.9 percent from the field, although they did make 18-of-19 free throws (Washington converted on 21-of-32 free throws).
Unlike Sunday’s loss to Oregon State, in which the Ducks trailed for the entire game past the 17:28 point of the first half, Oregon and Washington traded leads throughout. Oregon took the halftime lead on an Elgin Cook layup to beat the buzzer, and the two teams remained close for most of the second half. But a three-pointer from guard Darin Johnson with 12:17 remaining in the game put the Huskies up 50-47, and Washington would never relinquish the lead after that.
Washington built its lead up to seven with 2:59 left, but the Ducks went on a 9-3 run to make the score 73-72. Guard Johnathan Loyd converted an and-one on a questionable foul call with 1:14 remaining to trim the Huskies’ lead to that one-point margin. But on the next possession, Wilcox, with Loyd guarding him, rose up from the top of the three-point line and buried a three to essentially seal the game.
Forward Richard Amardi scored 11 points off the bench for the Ducks, and added a game-high nine rebounds and three blocks. He, Loyd, Cook and Jason Calliste provided a spark for Oregon off the bench, combining to score 37 points on 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) shooting.
Washington guard and Portland native Andrew Andrews scored 17 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Forward Perris Blackwell added 15 points and four rebounds on 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) shooting.
Oregon stays in the state of Washington this weekend to take on Washington State. The Ducks and Cougars will tip off Sunday at 7 p.m. at Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415