UCLA
23-3, 10-3
Oregon State
4-22, 0-13
No. 9 UCLA Downs Oregon State, 78-60
February 12, 2017 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – Lonzo Ball scored a team-leading 22 points to help No. 9 UCLA cruise past Oregon State, 78-60, before 12,649 in Pauley Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
Ball finished with nine assists and six rebounds, while classmate TJ Leaf registered 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
UCLA (23-3, 10-3 Pac-12) led by a 32-27 margin at halftime and used a 15-7 scoring run through the first 4:06 of the second half to build a 13-point cushion, at 47-34, with 15:54 remaining. From that point, UCLA's lead never fell to fewer than 11 points.
Leading 56-41 with 11:48 to play, the Bruins took advantage of a layup from G.G. Goloman and consecutive baskets by Aaron Holiday and Goloman to push their margin to 21 points at the 10:22 mark.
"We made some adjustments at halftime, especially going with the press to start the half," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "We are not a pressing team but we thought that it would generate a little higher tempo than what they wanted to play at and I thought it got our guys going."
Oregon State's 60 points marked the fewest points allowed by a Pac-12 team against UCLA all season. The Bruins limited Oregon State (4-22, 0-13 Pac-12) to 40.4 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Beavers, 37-29.
Coach Alford Postgame Press Conference | UCLA Players Postgame Press Conference
UCLA finished with 21 assists and just nine turnovers, recording just three turnovers against Oregon State in the second half.
The first half began with a pair of scoring runs. First, UCLA scored the game's opening six points – including four from Bryce Alford on a four-point play – before Oregon State responded with a 10-0 run to claim a 10-6 advantage.
Oregon State led by as many as three points, 27-24, with 2:37 to play. Ball responded for UCLA with a layup at the 2:26 mark before Ike Anigbogu dunked the ball to give the Bruins a 28-27 lead. UCLA never trailed Oregon State from that point, as Ball had two consecutive baskets in the final 1:16 of the first half to help the Bruins lead by five at the break.
UCLA earned its first multiple-game sweep of Oregon State since the 2010-11 season. The Bruins won the lone game in the series back in 2012-13, a season in which UCLA did not make the trip to Corvallis, Ore., to face the Beavers. Neither team had won two games in the series since 2010-11.
The Bruins, winners of their last four games, will return to action against USC (21-5, 8-5) in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 18. Game time is 7 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game against the Trojans will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
