EUGENE -- Late in December, Dillon Brooks lit up Matthew Knight Arena with a dagger three that went straight through the heart of UCLA.

The team went wild and so did the crowd as the Ducks won behind the grit of a preseason All-American.

Two weeks later, it wasn't Brooks that elicited the biggest roar from the sold-out crowd. In fact, things really couldn't have been any more different.

The Ducks weren't facing a power; they were facing the lowly Oregon State Beavers in the 347th Civil War. The game wasn't close, in fact it ended up being an 85-43 blowout -- the most lopsided Oregon win in the history of the rivalry.

And this time, the crowd didn't get raucous for a superstar. It was Charlie Noebel, a 6-foot-2 senior from Irvine, California, who walked on when depth was limited in 2014 and has managed to keep his spot on the bench as the Ducks rose through the ranks to their now No. 13 ranking.

Noebel entered with 2:07 to play and the game firmly in Oregon's hand -- though really the only time it was close was when Jordan Bell for Oregon and Oregon State's Drew Eubanks locked eyes as the referee threw the ball in the air for the opening tip.

No, Oregon took care of everything early, jumping out on a 21-0 run and preventing Oregon State from scoring for the first nine minutes and 16 seconds of the game.

It was Oregon's defense that got Noebel in the game late in the second half, forcing 21 Oregon State turnovers and blocking 12 shots.

It was the offense, too. The Ducks entered in danger of showing rust, having not played in the week since securing a road sweep over the Washington schools to start Pac-12 play 4-0 and extend their winning-streak to 13 games.

The layoff did little, as Oregon ran out to a 41-13 lead at the half and had four players finish in double figures - including Payton Pritchard's team-high 17.

So late in the second half, Oregon coach Dana Altman went to the reserves.

It's a group that's admittedly smaller than it was when Noebel joined the team in 2014. Then, the Ducks had just three returning scholarship players and Altman swooped up five walk-ons days before the season opener.

Projected to finish eighth in the Pac-12, the Ducks were unexpectedly good in the 2014-15 season and the walk-on number dipped to three the next year as the program built momentum. Noebel hit the first basket of his career in a season that saw the Ducks win the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Elite Eight.

This season, there aren't many players like Noebel on the roster. In fact, he's the only walk-on left, as Oregon brought back seven scholarships from last year and added talents like Pritchard, junior college player of the year Kavell Bigby-Williams and others in the offseason.

He entered the game Saturday with Oregon leading by 38 points and he was surrounded by players whose tuitions are paid by the school.

With 1:38 to play, Noebel grabbed the seventh rebound of his career. With 39 seconds left, he found himself open near the top of the three-point line when Roman Sorkin threw him a pass and, in that moment, Noebel was just like any of the other Ducks who have turned this program into a contender.

He caught the ball three feet behind the line, right where Brooks pulled up from against UCLA, and didn't hesitate as he launched the same shot he's worked on thousands of times in practice, but rarely in a game.

Swish.

The Oregon bench went wild and Matthew Knight Arena exploded. Twenty minutes later, two scholarship players were back front and center to talk about Oregon's 14th win in a row.

There are still plenty of things to work on, Pritchard and Casey Benson said, but things are really starting to click. The Ducks have a long way to go to routinely compete with UCLA and Arizona, Altman said.

But for a moment, like it did in the game, the attention turned toward the walk-on.

"It was awesome to see Charlie get in there," Benson said. "He is such a great kid and cares so much about the team and it's fun to see him score."

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger