Oregon Men fall at Utah

The University of Oregon men's basketball team fell 95-81 to Utah on Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The loss was the Ducks' third straight and dropped their season record to 3-4 overall. The Utes improved to 5-1 on the year.

(PHOTO) Utah guard Tyler Kepkay, left, and Oregon guard Mathew Humphrey, right, stretch for a rebound during the first half of their NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)

Oregon (3-4) returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 7, with a home game against Kansas State (5-2). Tip-time is slated for 5:32 p.m. (PST) at McArthur Court in Eugene. The Ducks-Wildcats game will be televised by Fox Sports Net.

Freshman guard Garrett Sim scored a career-high and game-high 28 points in 33 minutes of action. Sim, one of three Ducks to score in double-figures, was 10-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 on 3-pointers in the loss. His point total Wednesday night was the most of any Oregon player this season.

Junior guard Tajuan Porter and senior guard Churchill Odia added 14 and 10 points respectively. Junior forward Joevan Catron had six points and a team-best six rebounds before leaving in the second half with an injury.

The Ducks shot 48.4 percent from the field (30-of-62), hitting 45.5 percent of their attempts from behind the 3-point arc (10-of-22). UO struggled from the free throw line, making just 11-of-21 attempts for 52.4 percent.

Utah shot a scorching 58.2 percent from the field (32-of-55), while making 52.2 percent of its 3-pointers (12-of-23). The Utes made 82.6 percent from the charity stripe (19-of-23).

Four Utah players scored in double figures, led by Tyler Kepkay who tallied a team-high 23 points coming off the bench. Shaun Green, who also came off the bench, added 21 points and six rebounds for Utah. Those two players helped give Utah a 53-15 advantage in points from bench players.

Center Luke Nevill had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Lawrence Borha added 11 points. Utah out-scored Oregon, 34-20, in points in the paint.

Utah's largest lead of the game was 19 points, a 68-49 advantage at the 14:28 mark in the second half. The Ducks closed the gap to 10 points, 76-66, with 9:17 remaining in the second stanza.

The Ducks led by as many as four points, an 11-7 advantage with 16:41 in the first half.

Official Statistics