EUGENE, Ore. — One basket and 4.2 seconds. That is all that kept Hawai’i from pulling off its biggest upset in the past 10 seasons Tuesday night, as Oregon barely squeezed past the Warriors, 60-59.
A stunned but ultimately excited and grateful crowd of 5,627 at sparkling Matthew Knight Arena watched Takai Simpkins drop an 8-foot bank shot from the right side with 4.2 seconds remaining to lift the Ducks to victory over UH in the season opener for both teams.
Hunter Erickson raced upcourt after the ensuing inbounds pass and launched an off-balance 25-footer from well beyond the top of the key, but it sailed left of the rim as time expired.
“Our guys were fighting, I (was) watching them fight and give everything they had,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “Obviously we’re gonna watch (film) and get back to work and attack the things we need to work on, but there’s also some things to build on. Make no mistake: there’s a balance to this great profession. We’re not happy we didn’t get it done, but I can also say I’m very proud of our guys.”
After leading, 33-27, at halftime, the Ducks stretched the margin to 50-36 with 11:05 remaining after Dezdrick Lindsay’s layup capped a 14-1 run.
But Gytis Nmeiksa answered with a 3-pointer in transition to ignite a furious 14-0 surge ending with Isaac Johnson’s two free throws to tie it at 50-50 with 7:53 left.
Midway through that run was Dre Bullock’s defensive rebound and coast-to-coast dash to the rim capped by a thunderous dunk over Nate Bittle with 8:33 remaining. As Bittle appeared to catch up with Bullock, most fans probably expected a “Plan B” to the breakaway dunk, not knowing Bullock would elevate above Bittle and throw it down, anyway.
“Just dunk it, honestly,” Bullock said, explaining his thought process during the play. “We needed some energy, so I was trying to do anything to get our crowd, our fans going.”
Hawai’i reserve forward Yacine Toumi made a free throw to break a 58-58 tie with 1:34 remaining, and a short miss by Erickson later gave Oregon a long, 54-second final possession extended by three offensive rebounds. The last one went to Simpkins, who eventually dribbled into the right side of the lane and pulled up for a jumper after he drew some contact on his drive and faded slightly backward before releasing his shot, which banked in.
“No one or two plays determines the game, but we put ourselves in that position,” Warriors guard Hunter Erickson said. “But in that moment, that’s when we really gotta lean into the fundamentals, especially boxing out.”