Friday, February 10, 2017

Men’s basketball defeats Oregon 82-79 in rematch upset (At the half, final)

Bryce Alford spearheaded the Bruins’ 14-0 run late in the first half, hitting three of his four shots from long range. (Ken Shin/Daily Bruin)
feb 9, 2017 | derek li  | the daily bruin | ARTICLE links at half, final 

UCLA men’s basketball trails Oregon 48-39 at halftime


Last time UCLA and Oregon met, a buzzer-beating fade-away 3-pointer snapped the Bruins’ perfect record in Eugene.
The momentum continued for the Ducks in the first half of the rematch as No. 5 Oregon leads No. 10 UCLA 48-39.
The Ducks hit 6-of-15 from behind the arc and their swarming zone defense kept the Bruins off balance all night. UCLA turned the ball over seven times, leading to 10points off turnovers for Oregon.
The Bruins trailed by as many as 19 points before a late flurry brought them back into the game. Senior guard Bryce Alford hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead into single digits and awakened an erupting Pauley Pavilion.



The Bryce Alford 3-pointer that woke up Pauley Pavilion.


Then he drew a foul on a 3-point attempt the next possession down the floor before draining another a few minutes later. In total, Alford finished the half with 12 points and hit 3-of-4 of his 3s.

Aaron Holiday hit clutch free throws down the stretch to help close out UCLA’s upset win over Oregon. The sophomore guard also hit the go-ahead 3 with four minutes left in the game.

Men’s basketball defeats Oregon 82-79 in rematch upset


This post was updated Feb. 9 at 9:48 p.m.
One dramatic comeback deserves another.
The last time UCLA and Oregon met on Dec. 28, the Ducks’ forward Dillon Brooks hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating, fadeaway 3-pointer to come back from a four-point deficit with 24 seconds left in the game.
The then-No. 2 Bruins suffered their first loss of the season and they were now looking for revenge.
But for the first half, it didn’t look good, as UCLA fell behind by as many as 19 points.
Yet somehow, No. 10 UCLA (22-3, 9-3 Pac-12) clawed all the way back and upset No. 5 Oregon (21-4, 10-2) 82-79 in a thriller that kept everyone at Pauley Pavilion on their feet for the last five minutes of the game.
“When you get a win this way, I’m just so proud of this team,” said coach Steve Alford. “We talked about trust all year long and we just continued to trust our guys.”
There were a couple of heroes on the night.
Freshman guard Lonzo Ball hit a 3 to cut the deficit to five.
Sophomore guard Aaron Holiday hit a layup and drew the foul for the 3-point play to bring the Bruins to within just one point.
“We have a lot of confidence when (Lonzo) gets going like that because we know he’s going to score,” Holiday said. “And it opens the game up for us as well when he’s in attack mode.”
Holiday then hit a 3 for UCLA’s first lead of the game with 4 minutes and a second left to play, before Ball capped it off with another one of his own with 32 seconds to play to put the Bruins up five.



Lonzo Ball just drained the biggest 3 of his career from way down town.


“It’s just my time to do what I’m supposed to do,” Ball said. “The step-back is one of my favorite shots.”
Ball finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Holiday matched with 15 points and seven boards.
Unlike Dec. 28, UCLA held on at the end and the home team came up with the comeback win, again.


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