After a lead of up to 10 in the first half, the Ducks passed with a lead of 49:46 on a jumper at the beginning of the second half De’Vion Harmonwho scored 18 points on Saturday. But the Bears took command with a 17-2 run in which Oregon made four turnovers, and the UO men got no closer than six the rest of the way.
“We competed for 40 minutes,” said Harmon. “We only had a couple of wrong-time sales, some mishaps. Against Baylor it will cost you.”
How it happened: Oregon (6-6) started seven goals in a row, taking a 10-5 lead, answering a Baylor bucket with another 7-0 run for a 17-8 lead. The lead stayed nine at 20-11 after a Will Richardson Three-hand and again at 25-16 on a Harmon three-hand. After Baylor closed the gap, Harmon came to the edge to fetch a basket and Rivaldo Soares hit a three-pointer two possession of the ball later for Oregon’s biggest lead of the evening, 34-24.
Soares’s three-point resulted in a time-out from the Bears and they quickly closed within 34-30 after consecutive three-pointers from Adam Flagler, who scored five in the first half. Baylor came within 37-35 before Richardson paused two free throws just before half-time for a 39-35 Oregon lead.
“I told them afterwards that there had been a couple of games where we weren’t prepared and our level of competition wasn’t good,” said the UO coach Dana Altman said. “Our competitiveness was good (Saturday). The rebounds against a large, physical team, we were right there. But some timely offensive rebounds from them and then this stretch (in the second half), our ball losses made them easy.” Baskets and really turned the game around. “
From half-time the Ducks had a lead on the boards (15-11) and on points in the suit (14: 8), but Baylor turned the tables in the second half. The Bears outnumbered Oregon in the second half by 17-15 and were ahead on points by 20-16.
Baylor took a 44:43 lead early in the second half before a Richardson three and three points from Harmon put the Ducks back in the lead at 49:46. But after a bucket from Richardson tied it at 51-51, the Ducks went 3:33 without another point. That Richardson basket was Oregon’s only point during Baylor’s 17-2 run when the Bears took the 63:51 lead.
Jacob Young sparked late life at the Ducks, hitting a three-point followed by another bucket to reduce Baylor’s lead to 74-66. After two missed free throws by the Bears, Richardson made two for the Ducks, and Oregon forced an inbound turnover. That gave the UO men a chance to make it a one-ball game with more than a minute of play, but a miss followed by a turnover allowed Baylor to maintain control.
Who turned out: Harmon scored 13 points in the first half on his way to 18 for the game, leading the Ducks with a pair of steals. Richardson finished with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Young finished with 11 points, all in the last 7:05 of the game.
What it means: The Ducks are not a team that will settle for silver linings, but after some daunting performances early in the season, Saturday was encouraging.
“I’m proud of the way we competed today,” said Harmon. “They looked back on the losses we had, like BYU and Houston, we didn’t compete – and we got kicked. We competed tonight and I’m proud of that. With a little more shrewdness in our game, I feel like we’re winning the game. Great team effort; I wish we could get it back But we have to go on. “
Next: The Ducks are holding their last conference-free test of the season against Pepperdine on Tuesday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
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