Huskies done in by Armstead, Ducks in upset loss

Lacking intensity and offering no resistance to Oregon's penetrating guards, the No. 17 Washington men's basketball team was given a rather loud wake-up call Saturday at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Maybe this is going to be a tougher season than they thought. Once it became apparent that the Huskies weren't going to be able to stop Ducks guard Malcolm Armstead, the Huskies' swagger seemed to dissipate, along with the thought that they could sleepwalk their way to a conference title in what was supposed to be a weak Pac-10. The Ducks' backcourt was nearly flawless in front of a sellout crowd of 10,000, Armstead leading the way with 21 points in a convincing 90-79 upset victory that was never in question after halftime. The loss snapped an 18-game home winning streak for the Huskies, who fell to 1-1 after the opening week of Pac-10 play against a team that many predicted will finish near the bottom of the conference standings. Quincy Pondexter, who scored 16 points, seemed baffled by his team's lack of effort, the lone senior left to try to explain afterward exactly what went wrong. "Oregon outplayed us," Pondexter said. "There's not much you can say. We didn't come out with the same heart and passion and desire as they had ... They just wanted it more than us." Which, of course, begs the question of why a team that lost to Portland and Montana could have possibly come into Hec Ed and beat the Huskies at their own game. Oregon (10-4, 2-0 Pac-10) did it all - the Ducks grabbed rebounds, got to the rim, drove the lane, ran and scored. Tajuan Porter, an accomplished Husky killer, scored 16 points but also dribbled circles around the UW's guards all afternoon, drawing defenders and finding open shooters on the perimeter. Armstead did the same, racking up six assists, the main beneficiary being center Michael Dunigan, who scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds. Washington (10-3, 1-1 Pac-10) just never got it going. It led 31-23 after a Tyreese Breshers bucket with 7:16 left in the first half, but Oregon closed the half on a 19-10 run to take a 42-41 lead into halftime. And once the second half began, the Ducks took control. Teondre Williams hit a 2-point jumper and a 3-pointer to extend Oregon's lead to 63-53 with 11:44 to play, by which point the Hec Ed crowd was practically pleading for the Huskies to wake up and play like a team that was supposed to win these kind of games in blowout fashion. But they just never got it going. The Huskies came only as close as seven points, and Oregon's lead swelled to 15 before fans started heading for the exits. "I didn't think that we had the Husky grit that we needed to have," said UW head coach Lorenzo Romar. It didn't help that the Huskies didn't force any turnovers, as the Ducks committed just eight, disabling the UW's ability to run in transition. And UO outrebounded the Huskies, 35-31. About the only advantage the Huskies had was at the free-throw line, where they shot 35 times compared to 17 for the Ducks. But the UW couldn't even capitalize there, making just 22 of those 35 tries. Isaiah Thomas made 11-12 from the free-throw line to offset another rough shooting night, scoring 25 points despite making just 6-17 from the field. And so it might be time for the Huskies to step back and examine exactly where they stand as a team right now, Pondexter hinting afterward that the Huskies' swagger may have finally caught up with them. "Maybe we try to get a little bit ahead of ourselves with the cocky standpoint," Pondexter said, carefully mulling over a question about whether the UW's cockiness is serving as a detriment. "We need to be a lot better on the court before we try to have a flamboyant style. "Right now, I know the next game, there won't be that same attitude because we did lose to Oregon. We're going to come out working a lot harder, more of a business-like attitude, and play a lot better." Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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