UCLA rallies, tops Oregon in OT 87-84
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Prince Ali had 22 points, including four in overtime, and UCLA scored the final seven points to outlast Oregon 87-84 on Thursday night.
Jaylen Hands added 16 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with 47 seconds left for the Bruins (10-6, 3-0), who won in Eugene for the first time in five years. Moses Brown, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds, made one of two free throws for the final point.
UCLA trailed by 17 in the second half and was down 76-68 with 45 seconds to go in regulation when Hands made a 3-pointer and a 3-point play to cut the deficit to two. The Bruins outscored Oregon 12-4 to finish regulation at 80-80.
Chris Smith tied the score with 0.7 seconds left with a rebound basket off Hands’ intentional miss from the foul line, but Smith missed his free throw and the Ducks rebounded to force overtime.
Kris Wilkes had 14 points for UCLA and Jalen Hill had 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. The Bruins saw their 23 turnovers converted into 32 points by the Ducks, who had 13 steals.
Freshman Louis King scored a season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon (9-6, 0-2), and Victor Bailey Jr. had 20 points. Paul White added 16 points.
UCLA made 10 of its first 11 shots to lead 22-17 but then went 1 for its next 14 to trail by 11 points with two minutes left in the half. Even worse, the Bruins struggled to handle the ball against Oregon’s half-court pressure and surrendered 19 points off 14 turnovers spread among seven players. Nine came on steals by the Ducks.
Oregon went ahead behind Bailey’s nine points during a 14-2 run for a 39-28 lead. Kris Wilkes, who had six of his seven turnovers in the first half, hit a 3 at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 39-32.
BIG PICTURE
UCLA overcame sloppy ball-handling and an inability to keep its transition game rolling for a remarkable comeback victory. For the third game in a row, the Bruins had five players score in double figures.
Oregon put together its first impressive opening half against a Power 5 team since its win over Syracuse in mid-November and showed that it’s adapting to the loss of star freshman Bol Bol, despite losing at home for the third time this season.
UP NEXT
UCLA: At Oregon State on Sunday night.
Oregon: Hosts USC on Sunday night.
