A special night of firsts for the Oregon basketball program. Stunning is the only word for Matt Knight Arena and every element fell perfectly into place for a memorable debut of Duck basketball's new home.

Though the arena itself was the main attraction on this night, the Ducks made sure the show on the floor was not just an afterthought. Oregon won its first Pac-10 game of the season with a 68-62 triumph over USC in front of a capacity crowd of 12,364. It was also Dana Altman's first conference win as the head coach of the Ducks.

"It was a real fun night for everyone I hope," Altman said. "The students were unbelievable. The fans were unbelievable. It's just a great way to start a new era in this beautiful arena.

"I'm really happy for our players. They played their tails off. We've gone through some struggles here but tonight they put some of that behind them and really did a great job ov competing.

"I thought the guys really did a great job of fighting and competing. We out rebounded them (34-31) which was really a big stat for us. Our press was effective. But I'm really happy for the guys."

Johnathan Loyd led the Ducks with 12 points and five assists and Malcolm Armstead added 11 for the Ducks. Tyrone Nared and E.J. Singler each contributed 10 points in the winning effort.

Over the past six games, the Ducks shooting threatened to demolish Mac Court before it's time, but with the new backdrop of Kilkenny Court, Oregon's accuracy improved markedly.

The first bucket didn't come quickly, Garrett Sim is history's footnote 2:46 into the game, a jumper from 16 feet. With the ice broken, Oregon went on to knock shots down at a 43% clip (24-56) and found the three ball seven times - Tyrone Nared getting the first.

As the opening half played out Oregon settled into their new surroundings and their confidence followed suit. Nared's put-back dunk at the buzzer sent the crowd into a frenzy that sounded an awful lot like Mac Court at its best and gave the Ducks a 32-26 halftime lead.

Taking that momentum into the second half, Oregon jumped on the Trojans quickly using a 19-2 run to give the Ducks a 20-point lead at 57-37 at the 12:00 mark.

USC countered by going big, pairing Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stevenson on the blocks. The Trojans - who took Kansas to the buzzer and defeated Tennessee earlier in the season -climbed back into the contest with a 13-0 run cutting the lead to four, 62-58, with two minutes left.

Not on this night would Oregon let a late lead slip away. "This game meant so much to so many people," said Altman. "A lot have people have poured their heart and soul into this building."

E.J. Singler hit a pair of free throws down the stretch and USC missed their last two shots, the Oregon defense tipping the ball back to center court as the clock ran out.

"We came out ready to play," said Singler. "We started at the tip and we finished at the end. I'm so happy for our team. I'm happy for the fans to see us play like that. We can't wait to play UCLA on Saturday."

Loyd seconded the notion. "It was exciting. The crowd was into it. We got to play like that every day."

The festive atmosphere took shape early. As fans lined up for their first inside look the building's exterior was a parade the colors set against a deep blue twilight. In his dedication comments benefactor Phil Knight offered his hope those who will visit Oregon's new landmark would find "joy" in the performances it will host.

Bathed in flashing lights with a soundtrack heavy on bass and backbeat, the Duck mascot rappelled from the ceiling into a mosh pit of students, breakdancers, cheerleaders and marching band members in full celebration of a remarkable new campus landmark. When the lights went back to white Oregon basketball had entered a new time.

"Playing their tails off" as Altman put it won't win every game, but a scrappy, hard fought win qualifies as a successful debut.

 A scrappy, hard fought win to open a gorgeous new venue? It's not hard to find plenty of "joy" in all of that.