University of Oregon
9-6
UCLA
10-6
Ducks Drop OT Heartbreaker to UCLA
01/10/19 | Men's Basketball
The Oregon men’s basketball team built a big second half lead, but lost 87-84 in overtime to UCLA on Thursday.
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon men's basketball team built a big second half lead, but couldn't hold on, losing 87-84 in an overtime heartbreaker to UCLA on Thursday at Matthew Knight Arena in front of 10,105 fans.
How It Happened: Freshman Louis King got things started for the Ducks, scoring a layup off a Bruin turnover, then knocking one down from deep to put Oregon up 5-4 at the 17:18 mark. Following King's offensive spurt, UCLA hung on to a small lead until Ehab Amin came away with a steal and turned it into two points to put the Ducks back on top, 27-26.
Amin's layup was part of 16-1 Oregon run, which gave them a 37-26 advantage with 2:05 left in the half. The Ducks closed out the first frame making five of six field goals to go into the locker room with a seven point lead, 39-32.
Oregon (9-6, 0-2 Pac-12) came out of the locker room building off of its lead. After a couple of steals and a second-chance bucket from King at 13:45, the Ducks took an 11-point lead, 50-39. UO continued to roll, playing active defense and taking advantage of UCLA's turnovers, to create a 17-point lead with 6:53 left in the game.
However, the Bruins (10-6, 3-0 Pac-12) ended regulation on a 21-8 run, tying the score at 80 with two seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Overtime began with a reverse layup from Victor Bailey Jr., followed by two free throws from Will Richardson to put the Ducks up by four with 3:02 left, but UCLA scored the final seven points of the game to secure the victory.
Who Stood Out: King recorded his second straight double-double, finishing with a career-high 22 points while grabbing 10 rebounds … Victor Bailey Jr. finished with a season-high 20 points … He got hot at the end of the first half, scoring nine of Oregon's 12 points to end the period … Paul White scored a season-high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting … Ehab Amin finished with a season-high five steals … Will Richardson added 11 points and a career-high six assists.
Notable: Oregon's freshmen combined for 41 total points … The Ducks recorded 13 steals against the Bruins, reaching double-digit steals in three straight games … Oregon forced a season-high 23 turnovers and scored a season-high 32 points off those turnovers.
Quotable:
Dana Altman, Head Coach
"You've got to learn from your mistakes. I really want to emphasize the hustle, hard play, and energy we played with. I thought we did good job in making plays for each other, but we had some really silly turnovers that really hurt us all throughout the game."
Up Next: The Ducks will return to Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday to host USC (5 p.m., ESPNU).
