Duck fans flock together to see Sweet 16 success.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Good Times, indeed.

For the fans packed into the Seventh Avenue watering hole Friday night, Oregon's 76-72 victory over UNLV provided some good times as the Ducks built up an 18-point lead in the second half, and then some nervous, nail-biting times as the Runnin' Rebels cut the lead to two with seconds to go.

And then finally, sweet relief, whoops and hollers and high fives all around as the Ducks hung on to make the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and a date Sunday with Florida in St. Louis.

"You get kind of used to that around here," said Brett Johnson, a physical therapist who drove from Bend to watch the game at Good Times with his brothers.

Johnson, a self-described "wanna-be" member of the Pit Crew, came prepared. His bright yellow "Yell" T-shirt was accented with a white Oregon headband and two green and yellow sweat bands around each forearm.

"I needed all four of them," he said.

Johnson was joined at the bar by yuppies in suits, fat guys in NASCAR hats, college kids in Ambercrombie & Fitch, and ruddy-faced Duck fans wearing enough green to make an Irishman blush.

Even an Oregon State graduate, Marissa Himmel, said she was rooting for the Ducks, but only, she said, "because the Beavers aren't playing."

After the game tipped off just before 7 p.m., the crowd's emotions ebbed and flowed with the Ducks' fortunes. Of course, there was the obligatory yelling at the referees. When Maarty Leunen was called for a phantom foul late in the game, a few fans broke into a spontaneous barnyard chant.

Midway through the first half, the game turned into the Tajuan Porter Show. The pint-size guard scored 17 straight points, including an amazing array of three-point shots. Each time one of his bombs went off, the bar exploded in cheers.

Outside the bar, cab driver Josh Blomquist was making the most of a lull in his business. Waiting for his next call, Blomquist pulled his taxi next to Good Times and caught the action on a television set up in the bar's outdoor smoking patio.

"This is where I like to come to watch the games," he said.

In the second half, powered by Porter's pyrotechnics, the Ducks steadily built up their lead, bringing raucous cheers with each basket.

"C'mon, Ducks, run away," said one patron, and it looked like they just might.

Then, in the final minutes, as UNLV put on a fierce full-court press and scratched their way back into the game, the place got a little quiet. The crowd groaned each time a Duck missed a free throw in the final minute.

When Bryce Taylor made two free throws to clinch the game with less than 1 second to go, the sense of relief was palpable, and the noise deafening.

Afterward, Johnson was so spent he could scarcely speak.

"The good guys came out on top," he said. "They did just enough to win it."

Good Times, indeed.