UCLA squanders 15-point lead, loses to Oregon
/ THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Published: Jan. 21, 2012 Updated: 8:08 p.m.
EUGENE, Ore. – UCLA forward Travis Wear was reflecting late Saturday afternoon on the Bruins' lost weekend in the Willamette Valley, trying to decide what was more painful — a 75-68 loss to Oregon earlier in the afternoon or the 87-84 defeat at Oregon State on Thursday night.
"I think this one hurts more because we had that lead in the first (half) and we were playing so well. Our defense was clicking, our offense, everything was going right," Wear said.
Then UCLA blew the blowout, leaving the demoralized Bruins to nurse an ache that could sting even more come March. As bad as the loss appeared from where Wear and the Bruins stood Saturday afternoon it could loom even larger come Selection Sunday.
UCLA squandered a 15-point lead in front of 10,830 at Matthew Knight Arena, dropping the preseason Pac-12 favorite to 3-4 in the conference and 10-9 overall. It also completed the first sweep of the Bruins by the Oregon schools since 2004, Coach Ben Howland's first season in Westwood.
"Obviously, a huge setback," UCLA guard Jerime Anderson said. "We're 3-4 now so. I'll let those numbers speak for themselves."
A few other numbers also speak volumes for the Bruins:
• 51: As in the 51 points the Ducks (15-5, 6-2) scored in the second half, erasing a 15-point deficit late in the first half and a 37-24 gap at halftime.
•22.6: The Ducks' shooting percentage from the field in a first half dominated by the Bruins.
•12.5: UCLA's free-throw percentage in the opening half when the Bruins connected on just 1 of 8 free throws.
"It's a disappointing loss, a great opportunity to get a road win," Howland said. "And we couldn't get it done."
A series of Bruins lapses at both ends of the floor fueled an 11-0 Oregon run to open the second half that permanently shifted momentum and rattled a UCLA team that was never able regain its bearings. However, it was in the first half when the Bruins missed a chance to bury the Ducks.
UCLA was so bad from the foul line that even Wear, who had began the trip having made his previous 20 foul shots, missed both of his free-throw attempts in the first half. The Bruins ended up shooting 47.6 percent from the line, the normally automatic Wear going 3 for 6.
"You've got to step up and hit them," Wear said. "I missed three today, normally I knock those down. As a team we definitely have to focus on our foul shots because if we would have made a few more we probably would have won the game."
Instead, Oregon needed less than 90 seconds in the second half to take control of the game.
"They just came out pretty inspired," Anderson said. "They made some nice threes that got them back into the game very quickly and we had too many defensive lapses."
After Oregon center Tony Woods opened the second half scoring with a free throw, the Ducks' full-court press forced a Tyler Lamb turnover. Oregon on the other end found guard Garrett Sim opened on the wing, where he drained a 3-point jumper despite getting fouled by Anderson. Sim made the free throw to cut the UCLA lead to 37-30 with 18:47 still left to play.
"I was just trying to close out as quick as I could," Anderson said.
"It wasn't really something that serious, but the ref thought it was a foul so sometimes, you know, it goes that way."
Another Sim 3-pointer made it 37-30 45 seconds later. Duck forward E.J. Singler cut the gap to 37-35 with a jumper with 17:16 remaining. Oregon went up for the first time, 52-50, on a Singler lay-up with 7:47 left then another Oregon 3-point bomb, this time from Johnathan Loyd, gave the Ducks the lead for good, 55-52, with 6:53 remaining.
Singler finished with a game and career-high 26 points, 17 of them coming from the foul line where he went 16 of 17.
"We showed toughness and heart today," Singler said. "Coming out and winning feels good and shows we have heart, and that means a lot."
For UCLA, Saturday revealed a team still in search of a complete game a month into Pac-12 play.
"I think it's pretty devastating right now to lose after you have a 13-point lead going to the second half," Anderson said.
"That's where we need to be a better team and grow as a team and be able to come out on top and get this win because you know we were spotted 13 points in 20 minutes and we weren't able to come out with that."
_________________
UCLA men's basketball falls to Oregon 75-68
By SAM STRONG
The Daily Bruin in Men's Basketball, Sports
Published January 21, 2012, 5:31 pm
EUGENE, Ore. — UCLA is a basketball school.
Oregon is a football school.
For one half of basketball at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday, those titles held true.
Leave it to Oregon’s football team to erase UCLA’s 13-point halftime lead without playing a snap to send the Bruins home as 75-68 losers, the first time they have lost both games in Oregon since 2004.
UCLA opened the game with one of its best halves of basketball this season, at one point mounting a 15-point advantage that was backed by improved defense. As each basketball team entered the locker room, out came the Rose Bowl champion Oregon football team to the delight of the 10,830 delirious Duck fans in attendance.
“Their crowd was really into it,” senior guard Lazeric Jones said.
As each image from the Pac-12 football deities’ Rose Bowl win flashed across “Knight Vision,” the fans’ cheers – mingled with quacks – ratcheted up. The arena grew louder at halftime than it had at any point in the first half when the basketball team shot a dismal 22.6 percent from the field.
As the football team walked off the floor and its basketball counterparts returned, there was a renewed sense of energy in the air and on the court for the Ducks. Oregon (15-5, 6-2 Pac-12) opened the second half on a 13-0 run.
“Their intensity level went up a little bit and we could sense it,” redshirt sophomore forward Travis Wear said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t stop it.”
The run was capped by a rare four-point play from Oregon guard Garrett Sim as he drained a 3-pointer and was fouled by UCLA senior guard Jerime Anderson, sending the arena into a frenzy that nearly equaled the ovation for the football team.
“I was just trying to close out as quick as I could,” Anderson said. “I only hit him on the hand. It wasn’t that serious, but the (referee) thought it was a foul. Sometimes it goes that way.”
Feeding off that intensity, the Ducks proceeded to use pressure defense, eventually resulting in 12 UCLA turnovers.
“I thought we played really well in the first half, and it’s just really disappointing the way we came out at the start of the second half,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We’ve got to be mentally tougher.”
“We were getting whatever we wanted on offense in the first half,” Travis Wear added. “If we just settled down and carried that over, we would have fared a lot better.”
UCLA (10-9, 3-4) would counter with a 13-3 run of its own to hang on to a narrowing lead but the tide had already turned.
“We knew they were going to come out with a lot more intensity in the second half,” Travis Wear said. “We knew what they were going to do but we hurried a little bit on offense and gave them second-chance opportunities.”
Oregon forward E.J. Singler finished with a career-high 26 points, highlighted by an impressive display of free throw shooting that saw him shoot 16-for-17 at the stripe.
While Oregon shot 87.5 percent from the line, only missing four free throws all game, UCLA was 10-for-21, a statistic that Howland pointed to as a potential reason for the loss.
“The foul shooting really hurt us today,” Howland said. “It’s really unexpected. We had opportunities to be up by more. We were just a little rushed.”
UCLA improved defensive effort in the first half was all for naught as it reverted back to sloppy defensive habits that allowed Oregon State to hurt it two nights prior.
Offensively, the Bruins were led by Travis Wear, who finished with 17 points and Jones who had 14. Sophomore center Joshua Smith continued to struggle on both ends of the floor, finishing with just six points, four turnovers and four fouls in 12 minutes of action.
Injury report
Redshirt sophomore forward David Wear left the second half of Saturday’s game with a hyper-extended left knee. He was walking after the game and said he doesn’t anticipate missing major minutes because of it.
_________________
Bruins blow a 13-point advantage after the first half as E.J. Singler sparks Ducks' rally with 23 points in the second half to finish with a game-high 26.
By Chris Foster
The Los Angeles Times
7:09 PM PST, January 21, 2012
Reporting from Eugene, Ore.
There was a running theme to Coach Ben Howland's assessment after UCLA's 75-68 loss to Oregon on Saturday.
"I thought we played really, really well in the first half … "
"The first half, we played great … "
"We obviously won the first half … "
Howland's postmortem to the Bruins was a bit different, and louder, as it wafted into the hallway. This was no time for coddling a team that was picked to win the Pac-12 Conference. UCLA (10-9 overall, 3-4 in conference play) slipped further in the standings after blowing a 13-point halftime lead at Knight Arena.
Howland pointed out seven times how well the Bruins played in the first half. As for the entire game, he said, "we need to be mentally tougher."
The Ducks (15-5, 6-3) made only seven of 31 shots in the first half, but scored 51 points in the second half. E.J. Singler scored a career-high 26 points, 23 in the second half.
It made for a bookend to a trip that began with a loss to Oregon State on Thursday. It was only the sixth time that UCLA has been 0-for-Oregon in the last 48 seasons and the first since 2003-04, Howland's first season.
The bright side? Howland is in good company. He and John Wooden are the only UCLA coaches to be swept in Oregon twice. The brighter side? UCLA doesn't have to travel to Oregon next season.
The Bruins had seen enough of the state after Saturday.
"It's devastating to lose after having a 13-point lead," guard Jerime Anderson said. "We were spotted 13 points in 20 minutes."
Still, Anderson said, "There is nothing going through our heads mentally telling us 'we don't want to win' or anything like that."
Besides, guard Lazeric Jones said, "the goals are the same. We want to win the Pac-12."
The difference between wanting and getting was heard after the game.
"I can't say anything was lacking," Jones said. "They came out in the second half, got momentum, and took the lead."
The voice from the other locker room was Singler's: "We have a passion for the game and eagerness to win."
The Bruins led, 37-24, at halftime and then learned what it takes to be a contender. The Ducks spent 20 minutes showing them.
Poise …
The Ducks were embarrassed in the first half, shrugged and scored the first 11 points after halftime, four when Garrett Sim made a three-point basket and was fouled. Sim made another three-pointer on the next possession to cut UCLA's lead to 37-33.
Tenacity …
The Ducks forced key turnovers with their press and had 10 offensive rebounds in the second half. Singler's rebound and layup gave the Ducks their first lead, 52-50, with 7 minutes 47 seconds left. They never trailed again.
Free-throw shooting …
Oregon made 28 of 32 free throws. Singler made 16 of 17 and was eight for eight in the final minute. UCLA was 10 for 21 from the line.
"We had opportunities to be up more in the first half, but the foul shooting hurt us," Howland said. "We were one for eight … one for eight … that is just brutal."
Which left Howland shaking his head.
"We had a great opportunity," he said. "We were up 13 at the half."
David Wear is injured
UCLA forward David Wear hyperextended his left knee in the game and will be reevaluated when the team returns to Los Angeles.
_________________
The Los Angeles Daily News
EUGENE, Ore. - The UCLA men's basketball team has had more false starts this
season than a football team starting five freshmen on the offensive line.
Case in point: The Bruins' woeful opening in their three-point loss at Oregon State on Thursday, when the Beavers scored the first seven points of the game.
On Saturday, UCLA led Oregon by nine points less than five minutes in and by 13 at halftime.
The only problem?
In college basketball there are two starts, and the Bruins could not recharge.
The Ducks went on a 15-2 run to open the second half and pulled away from UCLA with some clutch free-throw shooting to ruin the Bruins' trip to the Beaver State with a 75-68 win in front of 10,830 at Matthew Knight Arena.
"It's pretty devastating right now to lose after you have a 13-point lead going into the second half," senior guard Jerime Anderson said.
"That's where we need to become a better team and grow as a team and be able to come out on top and get this win. We were spotted 13 points in 20 minutes and we weren't able to come out with it."
Anderson's foul of Oregon guard Garrett Sim during a 3-point attempt spurred the Ducks (15-5, 6-2 Pac-12) early in the half and had the crowd building on a frenzy caused during a halftime ceremony celebrating the school's Rose Bowl-winning football team. Sim made the free throw to make it a seven-point game, then followed less than a minute later with another 3-pointer.
By the time UCLA (10-9, 3-4) could breathe, the Ducks had tied the score at 39. Oregon took its first lead with 7:47 left and led the rest of the way.
"When they had their roll going, the crowd definitely ... I don't know if it factored in for us, but for them their intensity level definitely went up," said sophomore forward Travis Wear, who led the Bruins with 17 points. "We could sense it. Unfortunately we couldn't stop it right away.
"They got a couple buckets and kept rolling."
What UCLA did so right in the first half it did so wrong in the second.
After forcing the Ducks into 22.6 percent shooting for the first 20 minutes with improved energy and sound defense, the Bruins wilted in the second half under the face of Oregon's pressure. The Ducks shot 50 percent in the second half, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, as E.J. Singler took control.
Singler, who had a career-high 24 points in the teams' previous matchup in last season's Pac-10 Tournament - a 17-point Oregon win - had 26 points Saturday and capitalized on frequent trips to the free-throw line.
Singler nade 16 of 17 attempts and the Ducks converted 28 of 32 as a team. UCLA, on the other hand, was just 10 of 21.
"They really got it to Singler in some of his sweet spots on the floor," Anderson said. "He was able to work them very well. He shot 17 free throws today and we just didn't have an answer for him in the second half."
Anderson added, "Obviously this was a huge setback. We're 3-4 (in Pac-12 play) now. I'll let those numbers speak for themselves."
Oregon is a football school.
For one half of basketball at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday, those titles held true.
Leave it to Oregon’s football team to erase UCLA’s 13-point halftime lead without playing a snap to send the Bruins home as 75-68 losers, the first time they have lost both games in Oregon since 2004.
UCLA opened the game with one of its best halves of basketball this season, at one point mounting a 15-point advantage that was backed by improved defense. As each basketball team entered the locker room, out came the Rose Bowl champion Oregon football team to the delight of the 10,830 delirious Duck fans in attendance.
“Their crowd was really into it,” senior guard Lazeric Jones said.
As each image from the Pac-12 football deities’ Rose Bowl win flashed across “Knight Vision,” the fans’ cheers – mingled with quacks – ratcheted up. The arena grew louder at halftime than it had at any point in the first half when the basketball team shot a dismal 22.6 percent from the field.
As the football team walked off the floor and its basketball counterparts returned, there was a renewed sense of energy in the air and on the court for the Ducks. Oregon (15-5, 6-2 Pac-12) opened the second half on a 13-0 run.
“Their intensity level went up a little bit and we could sense it,” redshirt sophomore forward Travis Wear said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t stop it.”
The run was capped by a rare four-point play from Oregon guard Garrett Sim as he drained a 3-pointer and was fouled by UCLA senior guard Jerime Anderson, sending the arena into a frenzy that nearly equaled the ovation for the football team.
“I was just trying to close out as quick as I could,” Anderson said. “I only hit him on the hand. It wasn’t that serious, but the (referee) thought it was a foul. Sometimes it goes that way.”
Feeding off that intensity, the Ducks proceeded to use pressure defense, eventually resulting in 12 UCLA turnovers.
“I thought we played really well in the first half, and it’s just really disappointing the way we came out at the start of the second half,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We’ve got to be mentally tougher.”
“We were getting whatever we wanted on offense in the first half,” Travis Wear added. “If we just settled down and carried that over, we would have fared a lot better.”
UCLA (10-9, 3-4) would counter with a 13-3 run of its own to hang on to a narrowing lead but the tide had already turned.
“We knew they were going to come out with a lot more intensity in the second half,” Travis Wear said. “We knew what they were going to do but we hurried a little bit on offense and gave them second-chance opportunities.”
Oregon forward E.J. Singler finished with a career-high 26 points, highlighted by an impressive display of free throw shooting that saw him shoot 16-for-17 at the stripe.
While Oregon shot 87.5 percent from the line, only missing four free throws all game, UCLA was 10-for-21, a statistic that Howland pointed to as a potential reason for the loss.
“The foul shooting really hurt us today,” Howland said. “It’s really unexpected. We had opportunities to be up by more. We were just a little rushed.”
UCLA improved defensive effort in the first half was all for naught as it reverted back to sloppy defensive habits that allowed Oregon State to hurt it two nights prior.
Offensively, the Bruins were led by Travis Wear, who finished with 17 points and Jones who had 14. Sophomore center Joshua Smith continued to struggle on both ends of the floor, finishing with just six points, four turnovers and four fouls in 12 minutes of action.
Injury report
Redshirt sophomore forward David Wear left the second half of Saturday’s game with a hyper-extended left knee. He was walking after the game and said he doesn’t anticipate missing major minutes because of it.
_________________
UCLA squanders double-digit lead, loses at Oregon, 75-68
Bruins blow a 13-point advantage after the first half as E.J. Singler sparks Ducks' rally with 23 points in the second half to finish with a game-high 26.
By Chris Foster
The Los Angeles Times
7:09 PM PST, January 21, 2012
Reporting from Eugene, Ore.
There was a running theme to Coach Ben Howland's assessment after UCLA's 75-68 loss to Oregon on Saturday.
"I thought we played really, really well in the first half … "
"The first half, we played great … "
"We obviously won the first half … "
Howland's postmortem to the Bruins was a bit different, and louder, as it wafted into the hallway. This was no time for coddling a team that was picked to win the Pac-12 Conference. UCLA (10-9 overall, 3-4 in conference play) slipped further in the standings after blowing a 13-point halftime lead at Knight Arena.
Howland pointed out seven times how well the Bruins played in the first half. As for the entire game, he said, "we need to be mentally tougher."
The Ducks (15-5, 6-3) made only seven of 31 shots in the first half, but scored 51 points in the second half. E.J. Singler scored a career-high 26 points, 23 in the second half.
It made for a bookend to a trip that began with a loss to Oregon State on Thursday. It was only the sixth time that UCLA has been 0-for-Oregon in the last 48 seasons and the first since 2003-04, Howland's first season.
The bright side? Howland is in good company. He and John Wooden are the only UCLA coaches to be swept in Oregon twice. The brighter side? UCLA doesn't have to travel to Oregon next season.
The Bruins had seen enough of the state after Saturday.
"It's devastating to lose after having a 13-point lead," guard Jerime Anderson said. "We were spotted 13 points in 20 minutes."
Still, Anderson said, "There is nothing going through our heads mentally telling us 'we don't want to win' or anything like that."
Besides, guard Lazeric Jones said, "the goals are the same. We want to win the Pac-12."
The difference between wanting and getting was heard after the game.
"I can't say anything was lacking," Jones said. "They came out in the second half, got momentum, and took the lead."
The voice from the other locker room was Singler's: "We have a passion for the game and eagerness to win."
The Bruins led, 37-24, at halftime and then learned what it takes to be a contender. The Ducks spent 20 minutes showing them.
Poise …
The Ducks were embarrassed in the first half, shrugged and scored the first 11 points after halftime, four when Garrett Sim made a three-point basket and was fouled. Sim made another three-pointer on the next possession to cut UCLA's lead to 37-33.
Tenacity …
The Ducks forced key turnovers with their press and had 10 offensive rebounds in the second half. Singler's rebound and layup gave the Ducks their first lead, 52-50, with 7 minutes 47 seconds left. They never trailed again.
Free-throw shooting …
Oregon made 28 of 32 free throws. Singler made 16 of 17 and was eight for eight in the final minute. UCLA was 10 for 21 from the line.
"We had opportunities to be up more in the first half, but the foul shooting hurt us," Howland said. "We were one for eight … one for eight … that is just brutal."
Which left Howland shaking his head.
"We had a great opportunity," he said. "We were up 13 at the half."
David Wear is injured
UCLA forward David Wear hyperextended his left knee in the game and will be reevaluated when the team returns to Los Angeles.
OREGON 75, UCLA 68: Bruins come up empty after giving half the effort
The Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 01/21/2012 10:24:18 PM PST
Updated: 01/21/2012 10:47:14 PM
PST Case in point: The Bruins' woeful opening in their three-point loss at Oregon State on Thursday, when the Beavers scored the first seven points of the game.
On Saturday, UCLA led Oregon by nine points less than five minutes in and by 13 at halftime.
The only problem?
In college basketball there are two starts, and the Bruins could not recharge.
The Ducks went on a 15-2 run to open the second half and pulled away from UCLA with some clutch free-throw shooting to ruin the Bruins' trip to the Beaver State with a 75-68 win in front of 10,830 at Matthew Knight Arena.
"It's pretty devastating right now to lose after you have a 13-point lead going into the second half," senior guard Jerime Anderson said.
"That's where we need to become a better team and grow as a team and be able to come out on top and get this win. We were spotted 13 points in 20 minutes and we weren't able to come out with it."
Anderson's foul of Oregon guard Garrett Sim during a 3-point attempt spurred the Ducks (15-5, 6-2 Pac-12) early in the half and had the crowd building on a frenzy caused during a halftime ceremony celebrating the school's Rose Bowl-winning football team. Sim made the free throw to make it a seven-point game, then followed less than a minute later with another 3-pointer.
By the time UCLA (10-9, 3-4) could breathe, the Ducks had tied the score at 39. Oregon took its first lead with 7:47 left and led the rest of the way.
"When they had their roll going, the crowd definitely ... I don't know if it factored in for us, but for them their intensity level definitely went up," said sophomore forward Travis Wear, who led the Bruins with 17 points. "We could sense it. Unfortunately we couldn't stop it right away.
"They got a couple buckets and kept rolling."
What UCLA did so right in the first half it did so wrong in the second.
After forcing the Ducks into 22.6 percent shooting for the first 20 minutes with improved energy and sound defense, the Bruins wilted in the second half under the face of Oregon's pressure. The Ducks shot 50 percent in the second half, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, as E.J. Singler took control.
Singler, who had a career-high 24 points in the teams' previous matchup in last season's Pac-10 Tournament - a 17-point Oregon win - had 26 points Saturday and capitalized on frequent trips to the free-throw line.
Singler nade 16 of 17 attempts and the Ducks converted 28 of 32 as a team. UCLA, on the other hand, was just 10 of 21.
"They really got it to Singler in some of his sweet spots on the floor," Anderson said. "He was able to work them very well. He shot 17 free throws today and we just didn't have an answer for him in the second half."
Anderson added, "Obviously this was a huge setback. We're 3-4 (in Pac-12 play) now. I'll let those numbers speak for themselves."
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