Men’s basketball defeats Oregon 82-79 in rematch upset
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. (Jintak Han/Assistant Photo editor)
By Derrek Li
Feb. 9, 2017 9:31 p.m.
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.
[Related: UCLA men’s basketball suffers first season loss to Oregon in final seconds.]
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. pic.twitter.com/PH0qnQyasI
— Derrek Li (@DerrekLi) February 10, 2017
“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.
