In a game where Oregon turned it over 21 times, it still had a chance. In a game where star center Nate Bittle shot just eight times from the field, the Ducks still had a chance. 

Despite a series of unfortunate events, the Ducks still found themselves down one with 20 seconds left and the ball. Stellar University of Hawaii at Manoa defense led to a rushed, contested 3-pointer for Oregon guard Drew Carter, which missed off the rim. 

Even after a brutal missed 3-point shot with nine seconds left, somehow, Oregon had a chance. 

A mad scramble broke out for the ball, and it led right into the hands of guard Takai Simpkins, who was the game’s leading scorer at that point with 16. He took hold with about six seconds left. 

With five seconds left, Simpkins (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) knifed through the defense. 

With four, he rose up for the tough layup between two Rainbow Warrior defenders. 

With three, it kissed off the glass and fell through. 

“We crashed the glass really hard because we needed a bucket. (Simpkins) had it going all game and got downhill to his right hand and hit a clutch shot and we got the stop to end it,” star center Nate Bittle said. 

Matthew Knight Arena saw its first big crowd pop of the new season as the Ducks (1-0) willed themselves to a 60-59 victory they had no business being in. On both sides of the ball, Oregon appeared to lack significant energy and drive to dominate. 

“First game, everyone’s got a few jitters to get out. It wasn’t as pretty as we wanted it to be, but we got the win,” Bittle said. 

After a series of clock malfunctions that delayed the effective start, the Warriors jumped out to a small lead early on after converting on three Oregon turnovers in the first three minutes of play. 

The turnovers kept Hawaii in the game, but the Warriors didn’t have someone big enough to contend with the 7-foot Bittle (12 points, 14 rebounds) on the interior. Oregon’s defense never appeared threatened, but the turnovers continued. 

“The 21 turnovers, we just didn’t give ourselves opportunities,” Head Coach Dana Altman said.“It started right from the start, we had 12-13 turnovers in the first half. We were playing the game a little straight up and down, and not with much confidence.”

Through the opening 10 minutes, Oregon turned it over seven times (five of those were steals). Those giveaways led to easy attempts in transition for the Warriors, who scored nine points off those turnovers — they had 11 at that moment in the game. 

With eight minutes left in the first half, that number had ballooned to nine turnovers, and the Warriors had scored 13 off and taken a 21-20 lead. 

A 8-0 Oregon run brought the Ducks back ahead, which wouldn’t change for the rest of the first. That run was sparked by efficient ball movement, which didn’t come often for Oregon in the opening frame. 

That run came during a stretch of play where the Ducks used Takai Simpkins as their primary ball handler rather than Wei Lin. While Simpkins started, his role proved to be much more off-ball when Lin (2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist) was in the game. Once Altman gave him the ball and the reins of the offense, Oregon —  and Simpkins (team-leading 11 first-half points) himself — started scoring much more. 

After the Ducks’ run, each team went scoreless for over three-and-a-half minutes and the teams combined for seven turnovers. 

“We’re not pushing the ball, and when we did we turned it over. We have to make a lot better decisions in transition. Obviously, our ball handling by everyone, it’s just not the guards. Drew (Carter) was the only one without a turnover,” Altman said. 

Simpkins opened the scoring for the Ducks in the second half, but they didn’t get back on the board for another three minutes, which the Warriors used to cut Oregon’s lead to just one while the Ducks didn’t hit a field goal for over four minutes.Oregon’s offense received its reinvigoration from big man Sean Stewart (8 points, 7 rebounds), who scored two straight buckets on two backdowns in the low post. Stewart got fouled on the next possession and made it five straight points to put the Ducks back in control. 

Stewart applied his energy to rebounding as well, which forced a lot of the action to him on the block. That opened up more of the offense and a 8-0 Oregon run. That run became a 14-1 stretch and a 14-point lead behind aggressive offensive rebounding from Bittle and the frontcourt. 

The Warriors appeared to have a new lease on life in the game after a 13-0 run midway through the second half, after Evans left with a knee injury and did not return. They took the lead 54-52 after an 18-2 stretch over six minutes where the Ducks didn’t convert a single field goal. 

“On that play where KJ goes down on, we weren’t in scramble mode at all. We just stood around while they got by their guy and we got KJ laying there and (Hawaii guard Gytis Nemeiksa) hit a three. That started the whole run, at the time we were up 14,” Altman said. 

Hawaii continued to slow the game down as it built momentum, which forced Oregon into quick, inefficient offensive sets and missed shots. The Ducks didn’t manage to fall behind by more than two for a while, which left the contest tied with just over two minutes to play. 

The Warriors led by one with 30 seconds and a scramble broke out for a rebound, which ended up bouncing Oregon’s way. The Ducks held the ball for 28 of those final 30 seconds, and in that time, missed a shot, grabbed an offensive board and made a shot that became the game-winner. 

With just a second to go, Hawaii’s game-winning attempt of its own went askew and Oregon found itself with a 60-59 win. 

The Ducks retool and return to action Friday night at Matthew Knight Arena when they take on the Rice University Owls.