LAS VEGAS – Heartbreak and Sin City. It’s a match made in Bruin hell.

Last season, the occurrence was two-fold. Arizona ended UCLA’s Pac-12 tournament run two weeks before Gonzaga killed its national title hopes, both at T-Mobile Arena.

The year before, the Wildcats withheld the conference tournament trophy from the Bruins.

The ball went to the hands of sophomore guard Dylan Andrews on Thursday afternoon in the same venue, with the opportunity to exorcize demons after missing the championship game-winner against Arizona a year prior. He sped his way down the court and drove toward the basket, floating a prayer.

“Coach told me – four seconds left – that I just have four dribbles,” Andrews said.

It was all rim and no net, completing a tortured final chapter of the Bruins’ Pac-12 book.

Seeing its all-or-nothing shot at a tournament title slip away, No. 5 seed UCLA men’s basketball (16-17, 10-10 Pac-12) fell 68-66 to No. 4 seed Oregon (21-11, 12-8) in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas. The Bruins needed four wins in four days just to make the NCAA Tournament field, but they could achieve only one.

“You (Andrews) did a great job. The ball just didn’t go in,” said coach Mick Cronin. “Excellent execution by Dylan in that situation.”

Oregon had secured its largest lead of the day, 63-53, with just over four minutes remaining in the contest. But UCLA – a team plagued by a struggle to close games in the season’s younger stages – clawed its way back.

The Bruins rattled off nine straight points. It began with a jumper from Andrews, then a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from junior guard Lazar Stefanovic.

Then Andrews – Wednesday’s hero with a career-high 31 points – took the game into his own hands.

Weathering free throws from the Ducks, the veteran guard finished a pair of successful drives to the basket and drained back-to-back free throws. Opposing guard Jackson Shelstad’s make at the line gave it back to Andrews with a chance to win or tie on the next possession.

“Momentum was carrying on throughout that whole nine-minute stretch – it felt good,” Andrews said. “We started playing defense. I felt we got away from that during the game, and we were more focused on the offensive part of it.”

One last chance wasn’t enough, and an unlikely comeback would be forgotten.

Foul trouble defined the contest early. Sophomore forward/center Adem Bona was called for two in the opening moments of the first frame, restricting him to just four minutes before the break.

Compounded by a pair of fouls on Stefanovic, two of UCLA’s top-four scorers tallied just 10 combined minutes in the first half.

Cronin let the Pac-12 officials hear it – live on the air, no less.

“It’s ridiculous the way Bona’s treated in our league,” the fifth-year coach said. “Completely ridiculous.”

His outspoken frustration evolved into sarcastic chuckling when Bona was called for his third foul early in the second half. Even without Bona, Cronin’s players had a response.

Andrews and freshman Sebastian Mack delivered a point-guard party, combining for 23 points in the first half. Mack didn’t shoot lights out – going just 3-for-8 from the field in the frame – but racked up 14 points by the break courtesy of referee sympathy and seven made free throws.

A stifling UCLA defense kept Oregon’s scorers at bay for the majority of the opening minutes, with the Ducks making two of 15 shots and missing eight in a row at one point to enter halftime down five.

While Cronin gave Pac-12 Network viewers a peek into his fiery perspective, coach Dana Altman was busy crafting a new plan.

It reaped rewards. Oregon forced its way into the paint, taking advantage of the foul-ridden Bona to jump out in front 37-36 to mark its first lead of the half.

The Ducks continued to push the advantage, eventually reaching the consequential double-digit lead.

“In coaching, it’s hard when you’re asking guys to do stuff they’re not ready to do yet – they’re not trained to do yet,” Cronin said. “Unless your talent supersedes your inexperience, it’s really, really hard.”

And with no clutch to find, that lead brought a crushing end to a season of mediocrity.