Game Recap: No. 4 Oregon Falls to Baylor, 66-49, on Road

WACO, Texas — Baylor upset No. 4 Oregon, 66-49, from the Ferrell Center on Tuesday afternoon. The Bears shot 50 percent from deep, compared to the Ducks who missed 18 of 21 attempts. Baylor transfer, Manu Lecomte led all scorers with 18 points.

Dana Altman made no changes to his starting five. Casey Benson, Tyler Dorsey, Dylan Ennis, Chris Boucher and Jordan Bell drew the start once again.

Alongside their torrid 3-point shooting, the Bears shot 45.5 percent from the floor. Their putrid second half dropped the Ducks field goal percentage to 32.8 percent for the game. Oregon was worse from downtown, as they made just three of 21, with 18 missed shots (14%).

“Didn't play very well, and didn't make plays for each other, so we've got a tremendous amount of work to do,” Altman said.

Baylor dominated Oregon’s big men, amassing 41 total rebounds. The Big 12 host also secured 14 offensive rebounds against the Duck front line.

A 10-2 Baylor run in the middle of the second half placed the Bears ahead, 58-44, with 5:43 remaining in the game. The Ducks could not overcome the road deficit without their star, Dillon Brooks. It would only get worse down the stretch.

“It's difficult (without Brooks), but that's the way it goes,” stated Altman afterward.

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Johnathan Motley was a force for the Big 12 squad at home. He recorded 17 points, seven rebounds, and a block.

“It gives us confidence knowing we can go out there and beat a good team like Oregon and maybe keep things going,” said Motley. “I was pretty fired up. It's really hard watching your teammates play.”

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. dominated the post for Baylor. In the first half alone, the Bear big man had 11 rebounds (four on offensive glass). He finished the game with a monstrous stat line of eight points, 14 rebounds, and seven blocked shots.

Six straight missed 3’s by the Ducks led to Baylor’s biggest lead of the first half, 25-14. The Bears’ 10-0 run was buoyed by Lecomte. The former Miami product led all scorers in the game with 18 points on Tuesday.

“There's no doubt he's a good player (Lecomte), but we've got some other good players that didn't play very well,” Altman reiterated.

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Baylor took full advantage of a depleted Oregon team. The Ducks had their opportunities in the first half, but the second half was devastating with porous shooting.

Ennis, Oregon’s transfer from Villanova, cut the deficit in half after 11 consecutive points that continued into the second half. The guard scored the last nine points of the first half, and the first two of the second. Ennis led the way for Oregon with 16 points.

The Oregon career leader in blocks, Bell, continued his dominant interior presence in Texas. He sent back four Baylor shots on Tuesday afternoon. Bell added 11 boards, two steals, two assists and eight total points.

For the season, Jordan Bell has registered 10 blocked shots.

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Following a strong start to the game offensively, Boucher disappointed the rest of the way. The SI cover boy finished with 12 points, two rebounds, one block, and four personal fouls.

Following a, 74-67, win over Baylor last season, Altman didn’t feel his team did the same this year for victory.

“Well, we did pretty good last year, we just didn't do good this year,” replied Altman.

A report circulated Tuesday that Brooks could return to action for the Maui Invitational against Georgetown on Monday. He was seen on the Duck bench in Waco on Tuesday. His presence would give Oregon an enormous lift heading into a tough tournament in Hawaii. In 2015, Brooks averaged 16.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.1 SPG.

Up next, the Ducks will play host to Valparaiso on Thursday night from Matthew Knight Arena. Tuesday was Oregon’s first of five games in the next nine days.

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