ANAHEIM – In the far left corner of the Oregon locker room, Dwayne Benjamin sat with a towel over his head. Fighting back tears, Benjamin slowly collected his red and black Jordan sandals and packed his bag. The graduating senior, who had transferred from Mt. San Jacinto College two years ago, realized this was it.

“Best team I’ll ever play for,” Benjamin said. “Best two years of my life.”

Before media members entered with cameras and recorders, cramming the compact locker room following Oregon’s 80-68 Elite Eight loss to Oklahoma, the team took the 10-minute cooling off period to thank its two seniors for everything they had done.

“It was just the seniors, that’s all we were talking about,” Chris Boucher said. “They worked hard for us and knowing they’re leaving like that just hurts.”

Elgin Cook, who scored 24 points in his last collegiate game, had one of his best outings. On the other hand, Benjamin struggled from the floor, and finished with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

“Not a lot of seniors have this moment,” Dillon Brooks said. “Elgin fought so hard, same with Dwayne. It’s hard to go out like this. The seniors will always be in our hearts and they’ll always be Oregon Ducks.”

Oregon lost to a more experienced, better prepared Oklahoma team.

Oklahoma guard, Buddy Hield put on a spectacle.

Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield (24) hits another three to start the second half. The Oregon Ducks face the Oklahoma Sooners on March 26, 2016 in the Elite 8 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Kyle Sandler/Emerald)

Shaking past Cook and other Oregon defenders as if they were kids on a playground, Hield splashed his way to a 37-point, one-man show. It knighted him into NCAA Tournament royalty with the likes of Stephen Curry, joining an elite circle of players who have scored 100 points prior to the Final Four.

“Buddy’s performance … we just haven’t seen that,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said.

For the second straight game, he resembled a certain NBA legend who was enjoying every minute of the shooting barrage from the stands.

“He’s been Kobe since I came here,” Oklahoma freshman center Jamuni McNeace said. “He plays like Kobe, he’s competitive like Kobe, he scores like Kobe. Buddy gets buckets, Kobe gets buckets.”

But in a game where Oregon dug itself in an 18-point first half hole, missed 17 3-pointers and gave up 16 second-chance points, it was clear it wasn’t just Hield doing the damage.

The Pac-12 regular season and tournament champion, the team who won 31 games in a season and became the first No. 1 seed in program history, did not play that way Saturday.

“That first half is etched in my mind already,” Altman said. “It will be a tough six months thinking about that.”

“We had a great year and we’ve accomplished things that have never been done,” Brooks said. “We put Oregon on the map for sure.”

Altman didn’t provide a clear answer about what may happen with this program next year. He told media members that he wants what’s best for his playerss futures. Some will consider the pros — Tyler Dorsey, Boucher, Brooks — and others will look forward to another year.

“I hope all of them come back. I’d sure like to work with them again, but that has to be a decision made by their families,” Altman said. “I want what’s best for them, and when they decide what they want to do, then we’ll try to put a team together and do the best we can.”

Realistically, Brooks, Dorsey and Boucher should return. The group could make for a roster filled with more experienced, more developed, and potentially, more talented players.

“Everybody grew up this year,” Dylan Ennis said. “We’re showing that Oregon is one of those basketball powerhouses now. Hopefully, the momentum will push into next season.”

For now, the loss hurts. But Altman said he knows this season will be one he looks back on fondly.

“Once the hurt of this game, once we get through that, we’ll reflect back on this year with great pride,” Altman said. “I’ll look back on it with a lot of love.”