UCLA defeats Oregon, advances to Pac-12 semifinals
Sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson scored seven points in the final minutes of the first half to push the Bruins into a big run that carried into the second half. (Brandon Choe/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Andrew Erickson
March 13, 2014 10:44 p.m.
LAS VEGAS — One team beat No. 3 Arizona in its final regular season game. The other lost by 18 to a win-starved Washington State team.
On Thursday, the two were indistinguishable. The truth of Oregon being eliminated made UCLA’s Saturday blunder in Pullman, Wash. feel, in hindsight, stranger than fiction.
Sophomore guard Jordan Adams scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed five rebounds as UCLA downed Oregon 82-63, halting the Ducks’ win streak at eight games.
“Really pleased with our team,” said coach Steve Alford. “We responded really well tonight, coming off the game we had to end the regular season. To clear our minds and get well mentally and physically, that was really big.
Missing the teams’ last meeting at Pauley Pavilion because of a violation of team rules, Adams and sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson made the do-over count. With no team leading by more than four at any point during the first half, the two sparked a 14-2 UCLA run in the first four minutes of the final half. The duo’s mere presence knocked the Ducks right off the floor of the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Anderson missed a free throw with 50 seconds remaining in the first half, but it was the thought of what got him there that counted.
Seconds earlier, Anderson planted his foot well in front of the hoop, rose up and planted a rare dunk over Oregon forward Richard Amardi.
With a whistle and a few jaws agape on the UCLA bench, the Bruins took a 37-35 lead, their first in the final six minutes of the half.
In the moment, it was merely a form of punishment for an out-of-position, heels-in-the-restricted-area Amardi. In the context of the game, it was an understanding that Anderson, who scored all seven of his first-half points in the final 2:21, had arrived.
“It was last minute, really. It all happened so fast. I just went up as high as I could and tried to dunk it,” Anderson said. “When I came down, the first person I saw was (freshman guard) Zach (LaVine) and he was so excited. It just got me going.”
At Oregon on Jan. 30, UCLA likewise got going, building a double-digit second half lead only to watch Oregon take a three-point lead with just over a minute to play.
Thursday’s blowout featured a UCLA team that grabbed a double-digit lead with 17:11 to go and only tightened its choke hold. The Bruins never led by less than 12 in the closing minutes of the game, teetering near a field goal percentage of 60 for the entirety of the second half.
“The thing was, coach just said, ‘Keep it going. Don’t let them get back into the game,’” said LaVine, who added 14 points in 28 minutes. “(We thought to) keep playing at our pace and don’t stop being aggressive. That really helped us out.”
The motivation for aggression was clearly there. UCLA played an Oregon team that seized the Pac-12 tournament title from the Bruins last March on the same court. It played the same Oregon team that broke the Bruins’ hearts in a double-overtime thriller at Pauley Pavilion two weeks ago.
The Bruins also played for the right to retain their own legitimacy in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee. On Thursday, the Bruins dismantled all doubt resulting from the Washington State game along with the Ducks’ defense.
Whether or not they can finally repeat their success away from Pauley Pavilion will be tested in the Pac-12 tournament’s second semifinal game Friday at 8:30 p.m when they play the Stanford Cardinal.
“Our guys know it’s win or go home,” Anderson said. “And our guys don’t want to go to class tomorrow.”
