EUGENE, ORE. >> It was an ending that made the Hawaii basketball team want to “Shout” in frustration.

Against a heralded Big Ten opponent and a rowdy student section that danced and sang to “Shout” — the rally song lifted from the toga-party scene in the movie “Animal House” — the Rainbow Warriors fell a shot short in a 60-59 loss to Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena.

A crowd of 5,627 saw Oregon guard Takai Simpkins deposit a driving bank shot with 4.2 seconds left in the season opener for both teams. Five Ducks crashed the boards to secure four offensive rebounds in the last 45 seconds to set up Simpkins’ go-ahead shot.

UH guard Hunter Erickson’s shot attempt at the final horn did not fall.

“They did a good job cutting me off and putting me back in the middle,” said Erickson, who caught a pass near midcourt. “With so little time, it’s hard to make a decision. I tried to get as close to the hoop as I could and put one up. Sadly, it wasn’t good enough. At the end of the day. we have to put ourselves in a better position.”

The ’Bows entered without starting point guard Tanner Cuff, who suffered a leg injury during a practice last week. Cuff did not make the trip and his status is still being evaluated by UH’s medical staff.

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On their opening possession, the game and shot clocks malfunctioned three times. The ’Bows were called for exceeding the 30-second limit, an infraction they would be assessed two more times in the first half.

The ’Bows had to navigate a defensive web of traps and presses that were set after the Ducks’ made baskets. The ’Bows struggled to hit deep shots against the lengthy Ducks — and also on several open looks. The ’Bows missed 22 of 27 3-point attempts, as well as misfiring on five of their first nine free throws. With 11:50 to go, three UH posts — Gytist Nemeiksa, Harry Rouhliadeff and Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson — each had four fouls.

“We played some guys with four because, what are we saving them for?” UH coach Eran Ganot said. Nemeiksa and Johnson eventually fouled out.

UH associate head coach Brad Davidson said: “The bigs were in foul trouble and we had three guys cramping. … With a new team, you feel you’ve gotten your rotation down, and that made it more interesting for us (as to) who were going to put in.”

UH had closed to 36-35 when Oregon scored 14 of the next 15 points to take a 50-36 lead with 11:02 to play.

“With other teams when that happens, they run out of the gym,” Ganot said. “But we defended well in the half court, helped our bigs in the post, did a great job against the press.”

Then Nemeiksa hit a 3 and Johnson grabbed Erickson’s missed layup and dunked. On UH’s next possession, Dre Bullock, whose vertical jump was measured at 44 1/2 inches during team testing, got the ball on the wing. Bullock soared to dunk over Nate Bittle, Oregon’s 7-foot pro prospect.

On the takeoff, Bullock recalled thinking, “Just dunk it. We needed some energy. I was trying to do anything to get our crowd going, our bench going. There was definitely momentum from there.”

The jam was part of the ’Bows’ 18-2 run that gave them a 54-52 lead.

“That sparked the fire,” Rouliadeff said.

UH led 59-58 with 1:32 left. But with 23.4 seconds to go, there was a battle for the ball, which eventually landed out of bounds. The officials ruled it was touched by the ’Bows — a ruling that Ganot challenged.

After a video review, the call was upheld.

The Ducks worked the ball to Drew Carter, whose jumper from the left wing would not fall. The ball was batted around, then secured by Simpkins on the right side. The Elon transfer drove the right side of the lane and hit the go-ahead shot with 4.2 seconds remaining.

“It was crazy,” Ganot said. “We were watching it from our angle and there were some long rebounds, like it wasn’t really under the rim. Give them credit. They’re one of the best rebounding teams in the country. If we’re an immature team, we’ll talk about the last play. If we’re a mature team, we’ll talk about the last play and the other things during the course of the game that could have been better. If we address it and attack it we’ll be better for it. That’s what good teams do.”

After a timeout, the ’Bows fed Erickson near midcourt. Erickson drove the lane, but his shot was off the mark, ending the ’Bows’ upset bid.

“I’m really proud of our team,” Ganot said. “Are you kidding me? We had to navigate some things going into the game and during the game. What a great atmosphere. I was so pumped to coach in the game.”

OREGON 60, HAWAII 59

RAINBOW WARRIORS ( 0-1 )

NO. PLAYER MIN FG-A 3PT FT-A O-DREB TREB PF A TO BLK STL PTS

20 Johnson 12 4-9 1-3 4-4 5-3 8 5 0 1 1 3 13

14 Rouhliadeff 20 3-7 0-4 2-2 2-1 3 4 1 0 2 1 8

04 Bullock, 30 3-10 1-6 0-0 0-7 7 0 0 3 1 5 7

00 Erickson 36 2-11 0-3 2-2 1-2 3 0 3 3 0 0 6

30 Hunkin-Claytor 25 2-6 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 0 3 3 0 1 4

06 Finlinson 28 3-7 1-3 2-5 1-2 3 3 1 2 0 1 9

05 Nemeikaa 19 3-7 2-4 0-0 2-2 4 5 0 2 1 0 8

10 Toumi 20 1-5 0-0 2-4 2-4 6 1 0 1 0 1 4

09 Myers 7 0-2 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

07 Kerr 3 0-1 0-1 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TEAM 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-3 5 0 0 3 0 0 0

Totals 200 21-65 5-27 12-19 15-26 41 19 8 18 5 12 59

Percentages 32.3 18.5 63.2

DUCKS (1-0 )

NO. PLAYER MIN FG-A 3PT FT-A O-DREB TREB PF A TO BLK STL PTS

05 Simpkins, 36 7-12 1-6 3-6 1-2 3 1 0 1 0 2 18

32 Bittle 31 3-8 0-1 6-6 3-11 14 2 1 2 4 0 12

22 Pryor 30 3-5 0-0 3-6 4-1 5 2 2 2 0 0 9

10 Evans Jr. 17 3-6 1-3 0-2 1-2 3 0 3 3 2 2 7

23 Lin 17 0-7 0-4 2-2 1-2 3 1 1 4 0 0 2

13 Stewart 21 3-8 0-0 2-4 3-4 7 3 1 1 0 1 8

04 Lindsay 15 1-6 0-0 0-0 0-3 3 3 0 3 1 0 2

16 Demir 6 1-2 0-0 0-0 2-2 4 2 0 4 0 3 2

12 Carter 20 0-4 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0

06 Kobzystyi 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0

TEAM 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 200 21-58 2-16 16-26 17-30 47 16 9 21 7 8 60

Percentages 36.2 12.5 61.5

Halftime — Oregon 33, Hawaii 26.

Technical fouls — None. Officials — Steve McJunkins, Michael Reed, Keith Kimble. A —

5,627.