Written Story by Ryan Oppenheimer

Audio Story by Maddie Lang

Oregon’s 77-72 loss to the WAC’s Utah Valley Wolverines Tuesday night was a tale of two halves, but the disastrous first was just too much to overcome, even with a valiant effort in the second.

Many parties are to blame for the lackluster performance, but senior guard Will Richardson certainly isn’t one of them. Richardson seemed to be the only bright spot from that 24-point first half, showcasing his slithery finishing ability with 15 points on 5/9 FG and 5/5 FT while no other Duck managed over three points. Around the 6.5-minute mark, the Wolverines pulled away from a tie game with a 10-0 run, a lead which they would never relinquish. Come the halftime buzzer, the stagnant Ducks had managed just two assists to nine turnovers and were behind 41-24.

The second half saw Richardson come out firing again in the opening minutes. More importantly, it saw his teammates wake up from their sleepwalk — most notably center N’Faly Dante, who was on a mission down low and notched a double double with six offensive boards in the second half alone; and forward Quincy Guerrier, who hit the only two Oregon threes of the half to keep comeback hopes alive. Forward Lök Wur provided some energetic spot minutes as well. The trio spearheaded a late-game surge that brought Oregon to within as few as three points. But in the end, they had no answer for Utah Valley guard Trey Woodbury, whose 24 points were punctuated by a confident pull-up jumper to make it a two-possession game with 1:02 left. This was the backbreaker for Oregon, and a big reason the Wolverines improved to 9-4.

Utah Valley, coached by former NBA champion Mark Madsen, showed how underrated and fun to watch they (and the WAC as a whole) are. But this was a game Oregon was capable of winning, and Dana Altman and co. will have to sit with their disappointment over the holiday break before they begin the gauntlet of uninterrupted PAC-12 play against rival Oregon State on December 30. While the 7-6 record is concerning, we still haven’t seen the team at full strength. Fans can only hope that as reinforcements come in, team-wide consistency and a lessened burden on Richardson will follow.