University of Oregon
11-4, 1-1
Arizona
14-1, 2-0
Ducks Battle No. 7 Cats, Fall 80-62
01/09/15 | Men's Basketball
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon held its own with No. 7 Arizona for stretches of Thursday night's game but ultimately couldn't get enough shots to fall in an 80-62 loss before 8,829 in Matthew Knight Arena.
How It Happened: Arizona opened on a 12-2 run and led wire-to-wire, though the Ducks made it interesting at various times. Ultimately, however, Oregon couldn't match the clutch three-point shooting that marked last season's win over the Wildcats in Eugene, shooting 4-of-20 from long range Thursday.
The Ducks trailed 21-13 in the first half before a spinning drive for a layin by Elgin Cook sparked a run, culminating in Casey Benson's three-pointer that cut it to 25-23. Arizona scored the next eight points, but Oregon answered with seven in a row to make it 33-30. The Wildcats eventually led 39-34 at halftime.
Arizona started the second half hot as well, using an 11-3 run to go up 50-37. Jordan Bell's dunk got Oregon within 50-41, and Joseph Young later cut the deficit to single digits again at 67-58 with a three-pointer. That was one of just four the Ducks would hit all night from three-point range, after going 10-of-19 in last season's victory.
Who Stood Out: Young led the Ducks with 12 points, hitting just 4-of-15 overall and 2-of-7 three-pointers. Bell scored 11 on 5-of-9 free-throw shooting, and also blocked three shots, tying Tony Woods' single-season record of 51 less than halfway through the season. Dillon Brooks added nine points, four rebounds and a career-high four blocks.
What It Means: Oregon fell to 11-4 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12, and now knows how it matches up against the conference's elite team. The Ducks know what they have to work on before a rematch Jan. 28 at Arizona.
Quotable: "We had some good looks that didn't fall tonight. But mainly we beat ourselves in some areas. When those aren't falling, we have to rely on defense and rebounding." — Benson
"Our ball movement was not good tonight. The physicality of the game got to us. We got outrebounded terribly (40-27). Their athleticism really hurt us there. So we got out of whack. We had a lot of bad offensive possessions. When we were only down five at the half, I thought we could make the adjustment, but we come out with some turnovers in the second half and couldn't get that run that we'd hoped for." — UO coach Dana Altman
Odds and Ends: UO newcomer Roman Sorkin was on the bench in uniform but did not see action after joining the team this week. … Football players Johnathan Loyd — formerly of the UO men's basketball team — and J.J. Jones engaged in a spirited dance-off from different sections of the arena for the Knight Vision scoreboard in the second half. … Arizona finally earned its first win in Matthew Knight Arena, after unsuccessful tries the last two seasons.
Up Next: The Ducks host Arizona State, which lost Thursday at OSU, on Saturday in Matthew Knight Arena (2 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
