UCLA
11-11,6-5Pac-12
Oregon
15-7,7-4Pac-12
Men's Basketball Outlasts Oregon, 71-63
February 03, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball team outlasted Oregon, 71-63, on Saturday evening in a Pac-12 contest inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Dylan Andrews paved the way for UCLA, finishing with 21 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
The Bruins (11-11, 6-5 Pac-12) recorded their fifth win in six games after having built an 18-point lead in the first half. UCLA held a three-point lead with 2:40 remaining in the contest, before Andrews nailed a 3-pointer to put UCLA up six, 67-61, with 2:36 to go.
One minute later, Sebastian Mack picked off an Oregon pass underneath his own basket, darted to the rim and drew a foul. He knocked down both of the free throw attempts to put UCLA ahead of Oregon, 69-61, with 1:47 remaining. Andrews then iced the game for UCLA with a pull-up jumper one minute later, putting the Bruins ahead, 71-61.
The Bruins logged their third consecutive win, having swept a pair of home games against Oregon State on Thursday and Oregon on Saturday. Andrews averaged 19.5 points per game in those two contests.
Andrews finished 9 of 16 from the field against Oregon, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Mack chipped in with 16 points, making 7 of 8 attempts at the free throw, while Lazar Stefanovic added 15 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
"I just think we're learning what winning effort it is," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "There's a difference between effort and winning effort. We played smart down the stretch, really smart defensively. Our guys knew we had fouls to give, so we were aggressive closing off their drives. Berke took a charge. We got some strips. We were sitting on two fouls to give still. We communicated that to them in the last five minutes. Just playing smarter."
Oregon (15-7, 7-4 Pac-12) received a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds from N'Faly Dante.
Saturday's wire-to-wire game featured six lead changes and eight ties. The Bruins led by as many as 18 points (23-5) midway through the first half before Oregon clawed back, taking a 34-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Oregon had engineered a 9-1 scoring run to tie the game at 58-58 with 5:23 left on the clock, before Stefanovic put the Bruins up by one basket. Off an inbounds play, the junior found space along the baseline and made a mid-range jumper, giving UCLA a 60-58 lead.
With the score tied, 46-46, Andrews fed the ball down low to Bruins' center Aday Mara, and the freshman from Zaragoza, Spain, finished at the rim to put the Bruins up, 48-46. Two possessions later, the Bruins' duo connected again, this time with Andrews lobbing the ball up to Mara, who slammed it home, giving the Bruins a 52-48 lead. Andrews capped the run with a bucket of his own, pushing the Bruins up nine points, at 57-48, with 9:35 to go.
The Bruins opened the game in strong fashion on the offensive end, making eight of their first 12 shots and shooting perfect from beyond the 3-point line (3-for-3) to lead by a 23-5 margin against the Ducks.
Andrews and Mack both hit 3-pointers to get the Bruins on the board to kickstart the run. During the run to open the game, Andrews hit two 3-pointers and added another basket for eight points, Mack scored seven points, while Bona added two baskets and Stefanovic sank a jumper.
Oregon cut the deficit to 10 points, 28-18, with 6:58 remaining in the first half. On UCLA's next possession, Stefanovic got the crowd back into it with a triple, giving the Bruins a 31-18 lead.
Oregon responded with a 13-3 push to take a 32-31 advantage over UCLA before Jan Vide stopped the Bruins' scoring drought, finishing a floater in the lane, giving the Bruins a 33-32 lead. Oregon answered with a bucket in the final four seconds to take a 34-33 lead into halftime before the Bruins used a late run to close the second half to earn the win on Saturday.
UCLA will return to action at Stanford on Wednesday, Feb. 7, with a road contest at Maples Pavilion. The Bruins' game on Wednesday will begin at 6 p.m. (PT) and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The Bruins will continue their road trip at California on Saturday, Feb. 10. Game time on Saturday is 2:30 p.m. (PT).
The Bruins have nine regular-season games remaining on their schedule, with five of those taking place at home. Following the upcoming two-game swing to Stanford and California, UCLA will host Colorado and Utah on Feb. 15 and Feb. 18, respectively.
