EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Johnathan Loyd scored 12 points and Oregon held on after nearly blowing all of a 20-point lead in the second half Thursday to beat USC 68-62 on opening night of Matthew Knight Arena.
Malcolm Armstead added 11 points and E.J. Singler and Tyrone Nared had 10 points each for the Ducks (8-9, 1-4 Pac-10), who snapped a six-game losing streak and christened their $227 million, state-of-the-art arena with a victory in front of a sellout crowd of 12,364.
They did it despite not making a field goal in the final nine minutes. The Trojans (10-7, 2-2), who trailed 57-37 at the 11:51 mark, cut their deficit to 65-61 with 1:42 left. But Armstead and Singler combined to go 3 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds for Oregon.
Donte Smith scored 13 points -- all in the first half -- to lead the Trojans.
Updated January 13, 2011
