Thirty minutes before tip-off, the Pit Crew was jam-packed with the rowdiest students on campus. As “Superhero” from Metro Boomin’s latest album blared from the speakers, it was clear that the Ducks would need superhero performances from their key players to have a shot at victory against No. 7 UCLA. 

“They’re disciplined, they all crash the glass and everybody knows their roles,” guard Jermaine Cousinard said. “That’s what separates them from a lot of other teams.”

Oregon got off to a blazing start, forging a 6-0 runoff smothering defense and physicality from reliable big man N’Faly Dante. That run would turn into an 8-0 advantage from Oregon after Dante followed up his defensive effort with an emphatic slam that nearly brought the roof down.

UCLA’s 0-of-4 start wouldn’t last for long, as they’d soon find their offensive rhythm thanks to back-to-back pull-up jumpers from former five-star Amari Bailey. 

Before the Ducks knew it, the 8-0 lead had turned into a 12-10 deficit following sloppy play. Senior guard Will Richardson threw a go-ahead pass with the Ducks in transition. Instead of the ball finding Cousinard, it ended up in the statistician’s row. 

“We were just really sloppy,” coach Dana Altman said. “We missed some good looks early and they just pounded us on the boards.”

Altman’s squad has fought through adversity before, this situation being no different. A refocused offensive effort and lethargic Bruin turnovers would bring the game to an 18-all score with eight minutes remaining in the first half.

Two minutes later the Ducks seized control once again. After a smooth NBA-worthy up-and-under layup from Bailey, Dante tipped in a faulty layup to give Oregon a 22-21 lead. 

With just seconds on the clock, UCLA leading scorer Jaime Jaquez Jr. attempted a layup that seemed to be uncontested. Coming out of nowhere was Dante, who had a LeBron James-esque chase-down block. The senior big man let out a powerful roar and flexed, invigorating the whole arena. 

The Ducks ended the half leading 33-30.

What had been a hot end to the first half turned frigid early into the second. Jaime found his groove, making multiple tough, contested jumpers. 

Without Dante on the court, the Ducks struggled to rebound. 

Nearly eight minutes went by without the Ducks making a field goal. Cousinard would end that streak with an easy layup, but Jaime answered back with two three-pointers of his own to extend the Bruins’ lead to 12 with 10 minutes remaining. 

Just when all hope was on the edge of being lost, Cousinard provided a much-needed spark. After he pushed the pace in transition, converting a layup, UCLA missed a jumper leading to a pull-up three from Cousinard which found the bottom of the net. With the lead cut to single digits, the crowd became electrified with under nine minutes to go. 

All Duck momentum would soon be lost as multiple baskets from UCLA, including a nail-in-the-coffin three from Jaylen Clark, extended the lead back to 13. 

Turnovers, missed shots and fouls emboldened the Bruins even more, resulting in the Bruins’ lead nearing 20 with under five minutes left.

The Ducks eventually cut the lead to six with 16.7 seconds left, but they wouldn’t get any closer than that.

“We have more games in front of us. We can’t hang our heads right now,” Cousinard said. “We’ll refocus and worry about next week.”

With the loss, Oregon falls to 15-11 (9-6). The Ducks will have to travel to Seattle for their next game at Washington next Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m.