EUGENE, Ore. -- BYU's second stop in their pre-league series of basketball games against Pac-10 competition wasn't nearly as successful as the first.
One week after putting a major scare into 13th-ranked Arizona, the Cougars were no match for Oregon on Saturday night at McArthur Court. The Ducks jumped out to an early lead and were never really threatened during a 93-62 victory."We're just not rebounding and playing hard enough," said frustrated BYU coach Steve Cleveland.
BYU dropped to 2-4 on the season, while Oregon improved to 3-1.
In their first game against a Pac-10 foe this year the Cougars came out hot -- making their first eight shots against Arizona last week. The fast start helped BYU push the Wildcats into overtime before losing.
It was just the opposite this time around, however. The Cougars started ice cold. The Ducks were up 15-3 when the game was just seven minutes old. BYU, behind reserve center Mark Michaelis, made a bit of a rally, cutting the Duck lead to six, 24-18, with seven minutes remaining in the opening half. By halftime, however, the Ducks had opened up a 42-28 advantage.
Any hopes of a BYU comeback were dashed in the early minutes of the second half. Oregon went on a 14-4 after the half to take a 56-32 advantage. The rout was on.
The Ducks led by as many as 34 points before settling in for the 31-point victory.
BYU shot the ball poorly -- hitting 39 percent of its shots from the field. But rebounding, or the lack thereof, was probably the the biggest problem for the Cougars. Oregon finished with a 49-26 edge on the boards.
Oregon forward A.D. Smith led the way with 18 points -- 12 of those coming in the first half.
Michaelis, the former Taylorsville High star, was one of the few bright spots for the Cougs. He finished with a career-high 14 points, 10 more than his average.
"I just wanted to come in and give us a spark," said Michaelis. "My jump shot felt good tonight."
The only other BYU player to net double figures was freshman forward Mark Bigelow, who had 15 points and four boards. Silester Rivers, who went off for 26 points earlier in the week in BYU's win over Denver, scored just two against the Ducks.
The Cougs were without starting center Bret Jepsen, who did not travel with the team due to the concussion he suffered during the Arizona game. Jepsen was knocked out by an elbow to his face by Arizona's Eugene Edgerson. Jepsen has had headaches and nausea as a result of the incident and he not expected to be able to play for two more weeks.
Former Ute David Jackson was on the Oregon bench, although he was in street clothes.
Jackson is sitting out the season as a redshirt after transferring from Utah to Oregon this past off-season.
BYU's tour of the Pac-10 will continue on Tuesday when they travel to Pullman, Washington to face Washington State. The Cougars will be looking for their first road victory of the year.
Saturday's loss gives BYU an 0-3 record outside of the Marriott Center this season.