UCLA
14-1, 1-1Pac-12
Oregon State
4-11, 0-2Pac-12
No. 2 UCLA Earns 76-63 Win at Oregon State
December 30, 2016 | Men's Basketball
CORVALLIS, Ore. โ Lonzo Ball scored a career-high 23 points and TJ Leaf had a double-double, totaling 21 points and 10 rebounds, to lead No. 2 UCLA past Oregon State, 76-63, on Friday night at Gill Coliseum.
Ball made 7 of 14ย shots, including four 3-pointers, logging at least 20 points for the second time this season. Ball also added seven assists and six rebounds. Leaf tallied his sixth double-double of the season and his sixth 20-point performance.
Aaron Holiday (14 points) and Bryce Alford (12 points) rounded out the Bruins' list of double-figure scorers.
"After losing the game on Wednesday when we thought we had it, it can be tough to respond in a 48-hour period," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "But I thought our guys really responded. I thought we really grew defensively in this game. They slowed the tempo after playing a game 48 hours ago where the team ran with us. We missed some shots we normally make, but that happens on the road. I give Oregon State credit on how they guarded us."
Oregon State (4-11, 0-2 Pac-12) was led by Stephen Thompson Jr., who scored a game-high 25 points. Drew Eubanks added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Beavers.
UCLA (14-1, 1-1 Pac-12) led by eight points at halftime, 34-26, before Oregon State tied the contest, 38-38, after having opened the second half with a 12-4 scoring run in a four-minute stretch.
The Bruins regained their lead with a 10-2 run midway through the second half, when Holiday scored five of his 14 points. UCLA pushed its margin to 14 points with 6:13 remaining, as Ball totaled seven straight points over a 59-second span.
Both teams were evenly matched early in the first half, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Ball gave UCLA a five-point lead with 13:02 left before halftime. UCLA led by as many as 11 points in the opening half after a 3-pointer by Alford and an alley-oop dunk by Leaf, on an assist from Ball, with three minutes left before the intermission.
Just two days after seeing their season-opening 13-game win streak snapped with an 89-87 loss at No. 21 Oregon, the Bruins finished Friday night's game having shot 44 percent from the field. UCLA's defense limited the Beavers to 42 percent shooting from the floor.
The Bruins outscored Oregon State, 33-11, in points off turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 36-33.
UCLA wil return to action against California (9-4, 0-1 Pac-12) on Thursday, Jan. 5, in a nationally-televised contest from Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 6 p.m. UCLA's game will be televised by ESPN, with Dave Pasch and Bill Walton on the call.
