LOS ANGELES - Norman Powell scored a team-leading 23 points, highlighted by a monster jam before halftime, to lead UCLA past Oregon, 72-63, in a crucial Pac-12 game before 10,006 in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
Powell, who scored just four points in the Bruins’ win last Wednesday, topped the 20-point plateau for the 11th time in 26 games this season as UCLA moved into a third-place tie in the Pac-12 standings.
The Bruins (16-10, 8-5) registered their eighth win in their last 11 games and improved to 13-1 in Pauley Pavilion this season, overcoming an early seven point deficit against Oregon (18-8, 8-5).
“'We're really just playing well and it's really helping us,'' said Tony Parker, who finished with nine points. ''Norman has been making big plays. He caught my lob, one of my Chris Paul plays of the day.''
Powell found the hoop with 51 seconds to play before halftime for a monster dunk that he described as among the top five of his four-year career.
“'I've never seen the pick and roll split like that,'' UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. ''That was impressive.''
Powell said that his ability to read Oregon’s defense helped on the play, which put UCLA ahead of the Ducks, 41-38.
''They hedge hard on screens and I saw a little space where he hedged hard too fast when I was coming off the screen,'' Powell said. ''The rest of it was instinctive.''
UCLA closed the first half with a 41-40 advantage over the visiting Ducks, who defeated UCLA by an 82-64 margin in Eugene, Ore., on Jan. 24.
Kevon Looney, who has averaged 12.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this season, finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Bruins’ 6-foot-9 freshman from Milwaukee, Wis., notched his 13th double-double in 26 games. He continues to lead all freshmen in the nation with 13 double-doubles and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Jalil Abdul-Bassit scored a career-high 24 points for Oregon, making 7-of-12 shots from 3-point range. Joseph Young finished with 18 points and Elgin Cook tallied 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
UCLA led, 46-41, with 17:36 to play before Oregon tied the contest, 46-46, at the 16:23 mark. Powell followed with a 3-pointer at the 16:05 mark, and the Bruins never trailed from that point.
The Bruins used an 18-10 scoring run to push its margin to 64-56 with 5:21 remaining. Powell’s dunk with 3:51 to play gave UCLA a 67-59 advantage.
UCLA finished the contest having shot 50 percent from the field, connecting on 24 of 48 shots while outrebounding the Ducks, 38-24.
''They had a lot of tips, putbacks and offensive boards that didn't allow us to get into transition,'' Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. ''Our ball movement stopped in the second half. We took some early shots that kept us out of rhythm. There was no flow that half.''
The first half of Saturday’s game featured several scoring runs. UCLA opened the game on a 10-2 scoring run before Oregon claimed a 20-14 advantage by using an 18-4 run.
''Early in the season we had some bad starts, and Oregon likes to start fast,'' Looney said. ''Coach really preached to us about starting off well.''
The Bruins will hit the road this week, facing Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., on Wednesday evening before playing at Arizona next Saturday night. Game time at Arizona State is 6 p.m. (PT)/7 p.m. (MT).
Game Notes: UCLA and Oregon have split the regular-season series for the second consecutive season … the Bruins honored their 1995 national championship team at halftime … former head coach Jim Harrick was greeted by a standing ovation, and was joined by players Ed O’Bannon, Charles O’Bannon, Toby Bailey, Tyus Edney and Kris Johnson.
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