By the time No. 21 USC came to Eugene Thursday, the Trojans were widely known as one of the biggest surprises in college basketball.
And as Oregon found out quickly, the Trojans’ hot start to Pac-12 play was no fluke. USC, coming off an 89-75 win over UCLA last week, opened the night by making five consecutive baskets and jumped out to a 12-6 lead before three minutes had even passed.
But, Oregon responded with a counter punch that landed square in USC’s mouth and, with it, set the tone for a night in which the Trojans would be on the receiving end of them throughout.
If USC was flying under the radar when Pac-12 play began, they clearly weren’t at Matthew Knight Arena. And when the Trojans’ shots stopped falling, the beating only got worse.
Oregon found a hot hand on the offensive side of the ball, shooting 44 percent from three, and steadily built its lead to as much as 16 before fending off one final surge from USC in an 89-81 win.
“I thought we played hard,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said.  “That’s a good basketball team, they’re very athletic, they’re very talented. And I thought we played really hard, that’s what we needed to do.”
Elgin Cook led the Ducks with 26, shooting 8-for-13 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. He was far from the only one shooting at such an efficient rate. Chris Boucher added 14 on 6-of-8 shooting, Dwayne Benjamin sunk three three-pointers on his way to 16 and Dillon Brooks scored 14 more.
There wasn’t any doubt that Oregon could perform like that on the offensive end. On Sunday, the Ducks scored 87. But, the 91 from Colorado was the bigger problem.
Altman was obviously pleased then as Oregon stymied a USC offense that was averaging 84.6 points per game. The Trojans, who were shooting 41 percent from three coming in, went just 8-for-28 from behind the charity stripe. They were also held scoreless for over six minutes in the second half while the Ducks built a lead that turned out to be insurmountable.
But, the key wasn’t the three-point percentages or the complete lull in scoring for USC in the second half. No, the key appeared to be the play of Benjamin and Cook. The two combined for 40 points, but also contributed on the glass and on defense. Cook recorded five rebounds and Benjamin was responsible for a couple of steals that helped Oregon move its lead into double digits.
“I told (Elgin) and Dwayne they played how seniors are supposed to play,” Altman said. 
Benjamin said he knew a game like Thursday would come. The senior had scored just 10 combined points on the Ducks’ road trip, but found a hot hand early and finished the night shooting 50 percent on 12 shots.
Oregon used a series of runs to keep USC on its heels throughout the game, and the one that set the tone occurred in the latter part of the first half. After trailing 26-21, the Ducks scored on consecutive baskets, before Cook connected with Boucher on an alley-oop to give Oregon a 27-26 lead.
Following a USC response, The Ducks then used a 10-0 run to build its lead to as much as nine. The Ducks tied their season high for first half points with 46.
Oregon never landed a knockout blow, though, and the Trojans kept pace despite its unusual shooting woes. Bennie Boatwright posted 23 points and 12 rebonds, and Julian Jacobs added 18 points.
They cut the lead to eight with 6:21 remaining. But, Oregon fought off any possible late-game run from the Trojans and by the time USC had gotten within seven, less than 40 seconds was remaining in the contest.
Oregon’s win improves the Ducks to 4-2 in Pac-12. But, as Altman said, the team won’t have any time to reflect on it. They’ll get just one day of rest, before facing UCLA on Saturday.
“We usually celebrate a game for that night and celebrate the next day,” Altman said. “But this one’s over, we’re going to move right on.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise