After an opening act filled with pyrotechnics, dancing and odes to years past, the Oregon men’s basketball team did not disappoint a capacity crowd at Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday night.
The Ducks put together one of their best performances of the season in a 68-62 win over USC. It was Oregon’s first conference victory of the year.
“It was a real fun night for everyone,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Students were unbelievable, fans were unbelievable. It was just a great way to start a new era with this beautiful arena.”
Once the game finally tipped off just after 8 p.m., it was clear that both teams would need some time to adjust to the new surroundings. It took nearly three minutes before junior guard Garrett Sim finally hit a jump shot to put the first ever points on the board at the arena. The crowd erupted, and the Ducks were off.
The offense didn’t pick up until about seven minutes into the first half, when consecutive three-pointers by junior forward Tyrone Nared and Sim gave the Ducks a 10-6 lead. In what amounted to a 13-5 run, Oregon took a 17-9 lead with 9:49 left in the half.
The Trojans battled back and cut the lead to four just 25 seconds before intermission. The Ducks took the ball for one final possession, and Nared followed a Sim miss with a vicious put-back dunk that ignited the crowd.
“It’s two points, but it kind of energized the crowd,” Altman said. “Kind of gave everybody a big boost, and then we came out and really played well to start the second half.”
Indeed, Oregon took command of the game in the opening minutes of the second half. Shots finally began to fall consistently, and with 11:52 remaining in the game Oregon had grabbed a 57-37 lead.
“We settled down I think a little bit,” sophomore forward E.J. Singler said. “I think the passes were a little bit better.”
For freshman guard Johnathan Loyd, it was more of a change in mentality.
“I think it’s just confidence, really,” Loyd said. “It started with our defense … we tried to start it with our ‘D,’ and we just kept playing and confidence kept building and building.”
The lead did not last, however, and with 4:28 remaining the Trojans had cut the lead back to five.
“We were up big, and they started making a run,” Loyd said. “We just came together as a team, I think it was a little too late, but we still came together.”
Indeed, in the closing minutes of the game the Ducks were able to hold off USC’s furious push, eventually coming away with a 68-62 victory.
“We found a way to win,” Altman said. “We made enough plays down the stretch.”
Coming off the bench, Loyd led the team with 12 points. Junior guard Malcolm Armstead added 11 more, while both Singler and Nared finished with 10.
In all, Oregon shot 42.9 percent from the field, finishing over 40 percent for the first time in seven games. Despite the absence of senior forward Joevan Catron and limited minutes for junior forward Jeremy Jacob, the Ducks still out-rebounded USC 34-31. In addition, the Oregon bench scored 31 points compared to just 16 for the Trojans.
Altman was especially impressed with Nared.
“Tyrone really stepped up,” Altman said. “He’s been coming along, his athleticism gives us a big boost.”
In all, it was a night to remember for an Oregon team that desperately needed a jolt of energy. For one evening, at least, Altman could go home with a smile on his face.
“I’m really happy for our players,” Altman said. “They played their tails off. You know we’ve gone through some struggles here but tonight they put some of that behind them and really did a good job competing.”
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