EUGENE, Ore. – This was one rough week for Utah Valley.
Mitch Bruneel had 15 points, but the Wolverines had two costly scoring droughts during a 69-54 loss to No. 17 Oregon on Tuesday night.
It was Utah Valley's second straight game against a ranked opponent after losing 93-40 to No. 8 Oklahoma State last Tuesday.
"You have to know who you are playing and be realistic," coach Dick Hunsaker said. "Those were two good teams. . We hope we can pull what we can from these games and improve as the season progresses."
Joseph Young scored 20 points and Johnathan Loyd had 12 for the Ducks (3-0), who had a big scoring run in each half.
Hayes Garrity also scored 15 for Utah Valley, including back-to-back layups early in the second half to trim Oregon's lead to 34-31.
Up 37-33 with 15:28 to play, the Ducks took off on a 16-0 run to take a 53-33 lead with 10:30 remaining. Oregon went 6 for 10 from the field during the surge.
"They clamped down on us defensively," Hunsaker said. "We didn't get the looks that we need to get. They got aggressive on offense and we weren't able to sustain enough to stay with them."
Nearly a week after setting a Matthew Knight Arena record with a career-high 36 points in a 107-83 win against Western Carolina, Young went 8 for 15 from the field with a 3-pointer.
The junior guard came into the game leading the nation in free-throw attempts at 14 per game but went to the line just three times, making each attempt. He is now averaging 26.6 points per game.
The Ducks, who attempted 91 free throws in their first two games, went to the line just 15 times against the Wolverines (2-2), making 11.
"They just packed it in (defensively) and we kind of gave into it," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "We didn't swing the ball or attack. We did a little bit in the second half, but the first half, we just shot it."
The Ducks shot 41.3 percent from the field, compared to 37.9 percent for the Wolverines. They outrebounded Utah Valley 42-30, led by Mike Moser's nine boards. Oregon also had eight blocks and eight steals.
Oregon put together a 17-0 run in the first half that made it 20-4 with 10:45 to play. Young had seven points during the stretch, making a 3-pointer and converting two steal-and-scores.
The Ducks were up 27-13 with three minutes left in the half when Utah Valley got hot. It scored 12 straight points, capped by a 3-pointer by Bruneel.
A pull-up jumper by Loyd in the final minute made it 29-25 at halftime.
The Ducks opened the game 8 for 13 from the field but made just 4 of 20 attempts the rest of the half for 36.4-percent shooting.
"There were some bright spots, but we're not taking care of the fundamentals and that's what we want to do," Altman said.
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