Tough Shooting Night Sees Utah Fall to Oregon in Eugene

EUGENE, Ore. – The Utah men’s basketball team saw its three-game win-streak snapped on Saturday evening inside Matthew Knight Arena as it fell to Oregon 68-56.
 
The opening minutes saw Utah and the Ducks battle back-and-forth but a scoring drought (4:27) by the Utes saw Oregon go on an 11-0 run to lead 27-14 until Rollie Worster’s triple at the 4:37 mark ended the drought. Lazar Stefanovic caught a little heat late in the game, draining back-to-back 3-pointers to get Utah within 33-25 but a late three from Oregon’s Will Richardson sent the Runnin’ Utes into the break trailing 36-25.
 
Utah had a tough first-half finding the bottom of the basket, hitting just 8-of-29 (28%) from the field while Oregon took advantage in the paint, outscoring the Utes 18-6 the first 20 minutes of action.
 
The Runnin’ Utes were able to keep themselves within striking distance in the second half, trailing just 49-40 with 11:25 left to play after hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range. However, despite Utah shooting better in the second frame, the Ducks answered the Utes each time Utah scored before eventually going up 58-42 to force a Utah timeout.  

.@ben_carlson20 gets us going here in the 2nd half from the corner!! ??#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/DXtAu6QwAi

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2023

 
Utah responded after that timeout and brought it within 62-54 of the Ducks but once again, the Ducks responded and answered with a short spurt to push the lead back up to double-digits and close out the game.

ELI!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/tAAfRCUGmJ

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2023

 
Stefanovic finished the evening with 14 points to lead the Utes while Branden Carlson added 13 points. Freshman Wilguens Jr. Exacte was just shy of reaching double-figures, scoring nine points off the bench on 4-of-4 shooting from the line.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
The Utes had to play without sharpshooter Gabe Madsen 2:07 into the game after the junior suffered a lower leg injury on a defensive rebound … Utah’s struggles against Oregon continued Saturday as it dropped the 11th-straight game to the Ducks … Utah played one of its cleaner games on Saturday, committing just six turnovers … Utah was able to convert 13 offensive boards into 19 points but was outscored 32-14 in the paint.
 
UP NEXT
Utah now heads home to the friendly confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a three-game homestand starting with the Bay Area teams….