KWVA Sports - Dec 05, 2021

Written Story by Levi Profitt

Oregon Men's Basketball went down to the Arizona State Sun Devils in an overtime 69-67 wild one Sunday night at Matthew Knight Arena. It was a battle that went down to the wire, and featured Sun Devils guard Jay Heath knocking down what would be the game-winning three pointer with 3.5 seconds left in OT.

The game started slow for both teams, with poor shooting, and sloppy turnovers from both sides early. It picked up throughout the 1st half, however, as both teams would end the half shooting just over 44%. It was a tight first half that would prove similar of what would follow, as the game would be a nail biter. Quincy Guerrier and Jacob Young were some of the lone bright spots for the Ducks in the first half offensively, putting up 8 and 6 points respectively. Oregon was able to play nice defense in the half, keeping them afloat, and eventually leading to a 31-30 Oregon lead at the halftime break.

In the 2nd half, both teams would prove to struggle with outside shooting, with Oregon going just 1-9 from behind the 3-point line in the half. Arizona State struggled on their own, shooting just 3-13 from behind the arc. This led to one of Oregon's biggest advantages throughout the game, points in the paint. The Ducks would finish the game leading the Sun Devils in scoring in the key by a margin of 42-22. A large amount of these points would come from Oregon Center Franck Kepnang, who finished with a combined 12 points in the 2nd half and overtime. It was in this overtime that would prove the Ducks downfall, as Arizona State guard DJ Horne found an open backcourt mate Jay Heath to hit the big 3 that took a 2 point lead. That would prove to be the game-winning shot as Oregon guard Will Richardson couldn't convert the last-second look, finishing the Ducks with a 69-67 loss to the Sun Devils Sunday night dropping the Ducks to a 5-4 record.

The Ducks will now have a week before their next game at Stanford (4-3) on December 12th. They'll look to bounce back against a Cardinal team that's lost 2 of it's last 3, but will be ready for a Pac-12 rival in the Ducks that went 2-0 against Stanford last season.

Audio Story: Jonah Bruneau

   

Postgame Audio

Dana Altman