Home openers can be tough. UC Irvine found that out last Friday when it took on San Diego State in the Aztecs’ home debut and was soundly defeated.

SDSU would now, in its second game of the season, get the opportunity to experience first hand just what it’s like to play against a team in its home opener.

The opponent for this game the Univeristy of Oregon. The site McArthur Court. And what a place it is. Known as “The Pit,” it’s the second oldest on-campus arena in NCAA Division I-A basketball.

The Aztecs would find out all about this historic arena and then some on this night, falling to the Ducks 91-66 and dropping their record to 1-1.

However, the final score in this game can be a little misleading. It might appear as if OU was in control the whole game and handled SDSU without batting an eye. But with four minutes remaining in the first half, the Aztecs were down just 30-26.

Then in a span of 10 minutes, the Ducks (1-0) went on a 31-16 run to put them up by 19 points and, for all intents and purposes, put the game away.

And the much anticipated matchup at that point between SDSU’s Jason Richey and the Ducks’ Kenya Wilkins?

It was a virtual deadlock.

Richey finished the night with 23 points, four assists and four rebounds, while Wilkins ended up with 21 points, three assists and three rebounds.

Yet while the point guards for each team battled to a draw, the same could not be said for the rest of the players. As five different players for OU would reach double figures in scoring on the night, only two Aztecs would hit double digits.

SDSU, however, will have to lick its wounds over the Thanksgiving break, as it will next face Eastern Washington on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the San Diego Sports Arena.