Men’s basketball trails Oregon State 32-26 at halftime in Corvallis
Redshirt junior guard Prince Ali led UCLA men’s basketball with eight points in the first half against Oregon State. Ali is the only Bruin with more than five points as the Beavers went into the locker room up by six. (Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Sam Connon
Jan. 13, 2019 8:28 p.m.
The Bruins have not led all night.
UCLA men’s basketball (10-6, 3-0 Pac-12) took a three-game winning streak into Corvallis to take on Oregon State (10-4, 2-0) on Sunday night, but are now facing a 32-26 deficit at halftime. The Bruins shot 27.6 percent from the field and are on pace for 52 points – well below their conference play average of 92.3.
After a scoreless stretch by both teams in the first two minutes, the Bruins trailed for the next five-plus minutes. A corner trap with 12:25 left in the half led to a steal by freshman forward Jalen Hill, who dumped an outlet pass to redshirt junior guard Prince Ali for a slam that knotted the score at 12.
Ali leads UCLA with eight points, and freshman center Moses Brown is the only other Bruin with five or more points.
The Beavers pulled back ahead after a 16-16 tie, stretching their lead to as much as nine points.
The Beavers’ leading scorer this season, forward Tres Tinkle, was averaging 20.5 points per game entering Sunday. Tinkle scored four points on 2-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes.
Tinkle missed Oregon State’s matchup against USC on Thursday with an ankle injury and was listed as probably for tonight’s game.
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes – the Bruins’ leading scorer with a 17.1 points per game entering Sunday – went 1-of-7 from the field and put up just three points.
UCLA’s 26 points tied its season low for points in a first half this season and worst offensive period under interim coach Murry Bartow.
