With a minute left in Thursday’s game, the Oregon men’s basketball team looked primed to win a close game for only the second time in Pac-12 play. Instead, the Ducks (14-6, 2-6 Pac-12) couldn’t hold a three-point lead over UCLA (17-4, 6-2), and they suffered another loss, putting their NCAA tournament hopes in serious jeopardy.
Not all of Oregon’s Pac-12 losses have been this close at the end (neither team on Thursday night lead by more than three in the final three minutes). But the Ducks have basically been within striking distance towards the end each of their six defeats. People might blame it on bad play calls, poor execution, bad luck or a mixture of all three, but all losses count equally and the Ducks continue to finish games with their heads aimed towards the ground.
“They’re down,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said of his players. “They’re competitors. This is not where we thought we’d be, where we want to be, and it’s going to take a tremendous effort to bounce back.”
Oregon might kill themselves for their poor final minute and poor stretches throughout the second half, but Altman and Young were both pleased with their spirited comeback late in the game. Down 65-54 with 5:55 left, the Ducks went on a 15-0 run to take a three-point lead heading into the final minute.
“I thought the guys really fought it there,” Altman said.
But once again, defense failed the Ducks. With 57 seconds left, Kyle Anderson found a wide open Jordan Adams for a layup. And that was only the second worst defensive instance on that play. Richard Amardi fouled Adams, who made the subsequent free through to tie the game.
Jason Calliste missed on three on the next possession but Anderson missed right after that, and Amardi appeared to have secured the rebound. But Adams quickly grabbed the ball, and the refs called it a jump ball. The possession arrow favored UCLA. After a strip of Adams, Travis Wear scooped the ball up and scored a layup. Anderson blocked Loyd’s desperate jumper on the next possession to seal the game.
“We’ve just got to get the rebound at the end,” guard Joseph Young said. “We had three consecutive rebounds that we didn’t get and those are just the toughness plays we need to get.”
Altman and Young didn’t make excuses. Oregon didn’t play a perfect game, by any means, and they acknowledged that.
“The difference in the game was the start of the second half,” Altman said.
But several of these losses in Pac-12 play could’ve easily been wins if a few plays go differently. If the Ducks miss the NCAA tournament, these close close losses will almost certainly haunt them for a long time.
“At this point, we’re just overcoming adversity,” Young said. “We played good defense and we made some good baskets on offense, but we just needed to execute on more toughness plays on the defensive end.”
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415