Questionable foul call with seconds remaining stamps out Ducks comeback late in second half.

Fowl, pardon the pun, feels apropos when describing Oregon’s first half against Washington Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena. Once again starting lackadaisically despite opening the game with the first bucket, Oregon slipped to a quick 13-2 deficit.

Quietly leading the Ducks all night in scoring with 19 against the Huskies, Louis King kept Oregon within eight points entering halftime. Only freshman, King (9), Miles Norris (6) and Francis Okoro (2) scored in the first half for the struggling Ducks offense. Victor Bailey and Payton Pritchard were a combined 0-5 from the field in the first half and Oregon entered the break trailing 27-19.

Bailey might as well head down and work at Disney Land because he’s frozen. In his last two games played the guard’s shooting has been abysmal going 0-14 from the field and 5-27 in his last three. Whether it’s a lack of confidence, or just a bad shooting slump, Bailey’s struggles have been evident through this last stretch of games.

Dana Altman’s Ducks did respond however with a 14-0 run in the second half fueled by turnovers as a result of Altman’s press defense. Pritchard, cold in the first, hit 3-5 from deep in the second including the three-pointer that gave Oregon their first lead of the night, 52-51, with just 2:01 remaining.

The Ducks extended their lead to 56-53 before Washington’s Jaylen Nowell hit a three from the top of the arch, tying the game, 56-56. With OT looming Oregon’s attempt to force extra minutes was shutdown after a questionable foul call on Pritchard put Nowell to the line, hitting 3-3 with just over a second left on the clock.

Take-aways from the game:

• Oregon rarely seems ready to play to start games, last night being no different.
• Officially putting out a missing persons report for Bailey, He’s been nowhere to be found the last two games and the Ducks backcourt and three-point shooting has suffered.
• Norris is really starting to play well earning more minutes with his ability to stretch the floor and shoot from beyond the arch at the 4 position.
• Okoro nets a season and career-high 8 points for Ducks.
• The Ducks are two different teams night in and night out. Only complete game this season was against USC. The moment you think they’re starting to figure it out, everything from the game before goes to the wayside.
• Altman’s decision to go to a press defensively gave Oregon the extra attempts needed to get back into the game. Only question is maybe, why not go into the press earlier? The Huskies obviously had trouble keeping possession of the ball, which would have been helpful in the first half.
• Only 12 points from the bench, but still somehow outscored Washington’s bench 12-10.
• Charmin soft call to end the game for Oregon. Can’t blame the refs for poor shooting though.

Oregon

*Payton Pritchard: (40 MIN) 9 PTS / 2 REB / 4 AST 3-7 FG / 3-7 3PT

*Francis Okoro: (20 MIN) 8 PTS / 6 REB / 0 AST 4-4 FG

*Louis King: (36 MIN) 19 PTS / 3 REB / 1 AST 7-12 FG / 1-3 3PT

*Paul White: (16 MIN) 5 PTS / 1 REB / 0 AST 2-5 FG / 1-2 3PT

*Victor Bailey Jr.: (24 MIN) 0 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST 0-5 FG / 0-1 3PT

Kenny Wooten Jr.: (18 MIN) 0 PTS / 4 REB / 3 AST 1-3 FG

Will Richardson: (22 MIN) 4 PTS / 2 REB / 2 AST 0-2 FG

Miles Norris: (15 MIN) 10 PTS / 2 REB / 0 AST 4-6 FG / 1-2 3PT

Ehab Amin: (9 MIN) 0 PTS / 1 REB / 1 AST 0-1 FG

Washington

*Noah Dickerson (29 MIN) 11 PTS / 4 REB / 3 AST 5-5 FG

*Hameir Wright (13 MIN) 0 PTS / 0 REB / 0 AST 0-1 FG

*Matisse Thybulle (36 MIN) 2 PTS / 5 REB / 7 AST 0-4 FG

*David Crisp (37 MIN) 18 PTS / 0 REB / 5 AST 6-11 FG / 4-8 3PT

*Jaylen Nowell (35 MIN) 20 PTS / 6 REB / 2 AST 7-12 FG / 3-4 3PT

Nahziah Carter (14 MIN) 3 PTS / 0 REB / 0 AST 1-3 FG / 1-3 3PT

Dominic Green (20 MIN) 0 PTS / 0 REB / 1 AST 0-1 FG

Sam Timmins (9 MIN) 7 PTS / 0 REB / 0 AST 3-3 FG

Jamal Bey (7 MIN) 0 PTS / 3 REB / 0 AST 0-0 FG

(11-8) Oregon drops to 2-4 in conference play and moves down a spot sitting 9th overall in the PAC-12 standings. Next to face for the Ducks are the (8-11) Washington State Cougars led by CJ Ellenby (16.1 PPG). The Ducks will be at home once again, hosting the Cougars at Matthew Knight Arena. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.

Follow Colt Johnson on Twitter @Barefoot_Sensei