UO Men Settle For Split in L.A.

Saturday, February 3

Los Angeles, CA

7:25 PM

University of Oregon

15-7,7-4Pac-12

UCLA

11-11,6-5Pac-12

Oregon

UCLA

Photo by: Carter Cunningham

02/03/24 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Oregon mounted a furious comeback from a slow start Saturday night, but ultimately lost 71-63 at UCLA.

By: Rob Moseley

LOS ANGELES — Oregon started slow, rallied into the lead but then went cold over the final five minutes as the Ducks dropped a 71-63 decision at UCLA in a Pac-12 men's basketball matchup Saturday night.

In a game that started late after the UO men were delayed by a presidential motorcade, Oregon (15-7, 7-4 Pac-12) fell behind by 18 in the opening eight minutes of the game. The Ducks rallied to a one-point halftime lead, before a second half that featured seven ties — the last at 58-58 with 5:23 to play. But the Bruins followed with a 13-3 run, as Oregon was 2-of-8 shooting in the final 5 minutes.

"We needed to hit some shots there," UO coach Dana Altman said. "We had some really good looks to take the lead, keep the lead in the second half, and we go 1-for-10 from three. I thought we had some really good looks … We had to hit something, and we didn't."

N'Faly Dante had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Ducks, who can retain a share of first place in the Pac-12 if Stanford can upset Arizona on Sunday. Jadrian Tracey added 15 points, hitting three three-pointers during Oregon's rally to the halftime lead, and Jackson Shelstad scored 10.

Jadrian Tracey Shot

Jermaine Couisnard, the Ducks' leading scorer entering the night, finished 1-of-9 shooting with six points, his fewest in Pac-12 play this season. Oregon played its second straight game without big man Nate Bittle due to illness, and split the Los Angeles road trip in its first week of action since losing Keeshawn Barthelemy to injury.

How It Happened: The opening minutes saw Oregon take an early 5-3 lead, before UCLA mounted a 20-2 run to lead 23-5 through eight minutes. At that point the Bruins were 8-of-12 shooting, had nine points off four UO turnovers, and led 8-2 on the boards.

But over the final 12 minutes of the first half, Oregon shot 8-of-17 while committing just one turnover, the Ducks held the Bruins to 4-of-18 shooting and the UO men had a 14-9 edge on the boards.

With UCLA up 31-18, Kario Oquendo made two free throws to spark a 14-0 run that included three Tracey three-pointers and was capped by another three from Oquendo that gave Oregon the lead. The teams traded baskets in the final minute of the first half, and the Ducks led 34-33 at halftime.

Jadrian Tracey Defense

Baskets by Shelstad and Oquendo early in the second half gave the Ducks their biggest lead of the night, 38-35. UCLA then tied it with a three-pointer, the first of six ties in the opening seven minutes of the second half.

After the sixth of those ties at 48-48, the Bruins scored nine straight to lead 57-48. But a 10-1 run by the Ducks tied it yet again, with Shelstad scoring to make it 58-58 with 5:23 to play.

The Ducks would make just two more field goals the rest of the way, however, as UCLA mounted a 13-3 run. That included nine straight points to make it 71-61, before Shelstad scored the final bucket of the night.

"We didn't get stops," Altman said. "Part of it is my fault; we should have changed things up. … But we were making defensive mistakes."

Up Next: The Ducks host Washington on Thursday (7 p.m., FS1).