Oregon Comeback Foiled By Cardinal

Following a disappointing home loss to Arizona State to open Pac-12 play, Oregon traveled to the Bay Area today to face the Stanford Cardinal. Joining Stanford at just one game above .500 early in the season, Oregon was looking for improved consistency on both offense and defense. After Oregon rallied with a spirited 2nd half comeback from 14 points down, Jaiden Delaire nailed a 3 at the buzzer to win the game for Stanford.

BOX SCORE

FIRST HALF

Oregon started out the game ice cold, missing shots from inside and outside. Stanford led 5-0 when Quincy Guerrier hit a three pointer. After trading baskets, Stanford opened a 14-7 lead, which Oregon had to work to reel back. Oregon’s ball handling was sloppy, but the Ducks overcame turnovers on three straight possessions with a driving basket from Rivaldo Soares and a deep three-pointer by Will Richardson. Oregon outscored the Cardinal 7 - 3 to close to 17 - 14. With 11 minutes left in the half, Oregon cranked up the defensive pressure, including a full-court press, forcing Stanford to use up most of the shot clock just getting into its offense. This sparked a 7 - 0 run for the Ducks, as they held Stanford without a field goal for more than 3 minutes. Oregon took its first lead of the game at 19 - 18 with 10:23 in the half, and then stretched that to 25 - 20 after an N’Faly Dante block led to an Oregon fast break and layup by Soares. Both teams had trouble hanging on to the ball, but Stanford hit 2 three-pointers to lead 26 - 25, a one-point lead Oregon reversed on a De’Vion Harmon layup. Ingram then hit a wide-open three for the Cardinal, a play that caused Oregon Coach Dana Altman to come out of his chair and call an exasperated time out with 5 minutes to play in the half. After a miss by each team, Richardson hit his third three of the half to give Oregon a 30 - 29 lead. This would turn out to be Oregon’s last points of the half. Not so for the Cardinal, however, as they went on a 8 - 0 run over the last 4:00 to go into halftime with a 37 - 30 lead.

Richardson led Oregon in the first half with 9 points, while Soares came off the bench to score 6 and Guerrier chipped in 5. Eric Williams, Jr and Dante each had 4 rebounds. Oregon shot 41 percent from the floor and 33 percent from beyond the arc. Ingram led Stanford with 11 as the Cardinal shot 44.8 percent and 41.7 percent.

SECOND HALF

The start of the second half was basically a continuation of the end of the first half. Oregon managed just one point in the first 3:30 while Stanford was padding its lead with free throws and short jumpers. Stanford gained its largest lead at 45 - 31 with 16:38 left in the game. The character of the game’s last 10 minutes finally began to change when Oregon again brought out a full-court press, and tougher half-court defense. The Ducks continued to force Stanford to bleed shot clock and work hard for baskets. For a while, however, Oregon’s inability to score the basketball allowed the Cardinal to score only occasionally and keep a 10-point lead (56 - 46) with 10 minutes remaining. Five straight points from Guerrier, giving him a season-high 18, on a jump hook and free throw and then a tip-in off an Oregon miss cut the lead to just 5. Oregon’s press paid dividends as Jacob Young tipped a Stanford in-bounds pass off a Cardinal player and gave the Ducks a chance to cut the lead further. But Oregon turned the ball over on consecutive possessions and Stanford hit a three to go up 61 - 53 with 7:32 left. Oregon tried again, as Young scored a basket, then a free throw on a subsequent possession, and Dante also hit a free throw to close to 61 - 57. Oregon’s press forced a 10-second violation and a Richardson layup brought Oregon within three - 63 - 60 with 4:50 left. Oregon gained its first lead since the first half - 66 - 65 - on 3 points from Dante and a layup from Young on the break after a Stanford turnover. Stanford scored 4 straight points and then Richardson hit a 3 for Oregon to tie the game at 69 with 1:06 left. Oregon forced a Stanford miss, with Dante rebounding and dribbling up court. With 13 seconds left in the game, and 10 seconds on the shot clock, Oregon called time out to set up what could be the go-ahead basket. Unfortunately, a Richardson three-point attempt fell short and Stanford called time with 3 seconds to play to set up their own chance to win the game. The dagger came on a well-defended 3-pointer from Jaiden Delaire, who had made only three baskets from beyond the arc before this game so far this season. Stanford danced off its home court with the 72 - 69 win, sending the Ducks to an 0 - 2 start in the Pac-12.

For the game, Guerrier led Oregon with 18 points, while Delaire chipped in 20 for the Cardinal. Richardson had 15 and Soares 10 for Oregon. Guerrier also led the team with 9 rebounds. Oregon shot 41 percent from the floor, and 35 percent from the 3-point line. Oregon also missed 7 free throws on the game, which could have been difference makers, although the Cardinal also missed 6.

After another close loss, Oregon returns to action at Matthew Knight Arena next Wednesday, December 15 to take on the University of Portland Pilots at 6:00 pm.