For a moment, the cheers were halted.
When the game was over and perfection was complete, Ernie Kent took the microphone from public address announcer Don Essig.
The Oregon head coach quieted the crowd and spoke from the heart.
“You guys are the reason this team went 16-0,” Kent said while his team stood next to him. “I think you have seen what maybe was one of the greatest teams at the University of Oregon.”
Kent’s passion for McArthur Court is endless, stemming from his days as a player in the “Kamikaze Kids” era of the 1970s. When he took over as coach in 1997-98, he spoke of his desire to bring back the atmosphere of the “Mac Court of old.”
Mission accomplished — and then some.
Saturday night, in front of a sold out crowd of 9,087, the Oregon men’s basketball team outlasted pesky Washington, 90-84, to cap off a 16-0 home record.

The last time the Ducks went undefeated at home was 1937-38, a stretch of 64 years that left Kent shaking his head in amazement during his postgame press conference.
“It hasn’t even sunk in,” Kent said. “That’s a long time. (The community) has seen it with football and now they have an opportunity to see it up close with basketball.
“It’s just incredible what this team has done.”
No. 15 Oregon (20-7, 12-4) now stands alone in first place, a full game ahead of a three-way tie for second involving Arizona, California and USC. Stanford and UCLA are both two games behind. The Ducks also recorded their 20th victory for just the ninth time in school history and jumped out to a 12-4 conference record for the first time since the 1938-39 NCAA championship team.
From the beginning Saturday, it was Freddie Jones’ night. The senior capped off his Mac Court career in spectacular fashion, scoring 15 of the first 18 Oregon points en route to a 33-point night.
“I wanted to make sure I got myself involved early,” Jones said. “Coach gave me a lot of freedom.”
While the enthusiasm generated from Jones’ emphatic slams — including one facial over Errol Knight — gave the feeling of a celebratory atmosphere to honor the seniors, the Huskies never rolled over and let the party ensue.

Washington (10-17, 4-13), which beat Oregon earlier this season in Seattle, continued to give the Ducks fits. Doug Wrenn paced the Huskies with 27 points and Curtis Allen chipped in 18.
At halftime, the Ducks led 51-45, but appeared to take control in the second half. With 6:51 to play, Oregon’s Robert Johnson converted a hook shot in the paint to put his team on top 76-63 — the largest lead of the game.
The Huskies stormed right back in it, though, after a 13-4 run trimmed the lead to four.
But Jones, who has received criticism in the past for not closing out games, stepped up to the plate on senior night and connected.
First, at the 3:16 mark, he nailed a three-pointer to extend the margin to 80-71 and awaken the crowd. Then, with the Huskies trailing only 82-79 and less than a minute showing on the clock, he launched a three in front of the Oregon bench that sealed the deal. In all, Jones made 5-of-7 three-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and had five steals.
“He had some big threes and big plays to start the game and some big threes to finish out the game,” Kent said. “We all know he’s been through a lot of growth. I’m going to miss him immensely. It’s going to be unreal with him not being there (next season).”
Washington head coach Bob Bender was more succinct.
“He just had it going,” he said.
Luke Jackson helped Jones carry the load with 23 points and senior Anthony Lever made all three treys he took in an 11-point performance. Luke Ridnour only made 1-of-10 shot attempts, but did record a career-high 10 assists.
Now, the talk shifts toward this week’s regular season-ending games in Los Angeles, beginning with the Trojans on Thursday.
But before looking ahead, Kent made sure to address the fans Saturday and thank them for their support, as well as give his six seniors one last round of applause at The Pit.
“I think you need to give these seniors and this team a terrific send-off as we get ready to go down to L.A. and bring back the Pac-10 championship!” Kent said.
The cheers resumed.