EUGENE, Ore. – The San Francisco men's basketball team came into Sunday's game against No. 17 Oregon with a hot-hand from 3-point range.
The Ducks (4-0) cooled the Dons off a bit, holding them well below their season average in a 100-82 win at Matthew Knight Arena.
"At the end of the game, I wanted to attack the basket but we settled for 3s," Dons coach Rex Walters said. "We didn't seem to fully buy into that, and that's what it takes to play in these types of environments against a tough team like this. We were right there on the verge. We let it get away from us a little bit at the end."
San Francisco (3-3) came into Sunday's road game shooting 40 percent from the 3-point arc, but the Dons missed their first nine attempts. San Francisco junior Kruize Pinkins had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough against an Oregon team that had six players score in double figures.
"They're (Oregon) a very good team and you have to tip your hat to them," Walters said. "I'm disappointed with our paint protection and transition defense. We didn't shoot the ball well. I don't think our commitment to paint touches was nearly what it needed to be. Our guys played really hard, but I just have to do a better job."
Elgin Cook scored 18 points, grabbed six rebounds and had three steals off the bench to lead the Ducks, and teammate Mike Moser had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
"He's our X-factor," Moser said of Cook. "He just brings a whole 'nother dimension to our team."
San Francisco opened the game with an alley-oop from Matt Glover to Mark Tollefsen, but the Ducks hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take an early 6-2 lead.
Oregon's first three baskets were 3-pointers, but the Dons — despite missing 10 straight shots — took the lead on a layup from Cole Dickerson with 14 minutes left in the first half. They kept the score relatively close throughout the first half, taking advantage of second-chance points and Oregon's early foul trouble.
Dotson gave Oregon 37-27 lead with a dunk, and a 3-pointer from Jalil Abdul-Bassit pushed the Ducks' lead to 40-29 at the two-minute mark of the first half.
The Dons closed with back-to-back 3-pointers from Chris Adams to cut Oregon's lead at halftime to 40-35.
"They were shooting 31 percent from the field but were only down five," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "We gave them nine second-chance points and didn't hit our free throws."
Oregon weathered a run by San Francisco that cut the score to 44-41 early in the second half. The Ducks responded with an 8-2 spurt, capped by a 3-point play from Jason Calliste that brought the lead to 59-46 with 14 minutes left in the game.
The Dons rallied to within 61-55 midway through the second half, but Oregon hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to go back up 12 with 9:25 to go, and San Francisco didn't threaten the lead again.
The Ducks led by as many as 19 in the second half and shot 32 for 60 from the field and 58.1 percent from 3-point range. The Dons shot 36.8 percent from the field.
Glover scored 14 points for San Francisco, and Tollefsen added 10 and five rebounds.
NOTES: Sunday's attendance at Matthew Knight Arena was 6,084. . Avry Holmes had four steals for San Francisco. . Sunday's loss broke a five-game win streak on the road for the Dons dating back to last season.