After holding a slight lead going into halftime, the Oregon Ducks (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12) found itself on the wrong end of a 9-0 run at the start of the second half and down 42-37. However, Oregon came storming back. Jermaine Cousinard hit a three-pointer, then Jackson Shelstad came alive. Shelstad made three more shots from beyond the arc, with only a single basket for the UCLA Bruins (6-7, 1-1 Pac-12) breaking up the outburst. The Ducks led 49-44 after the 12-2 run, and Oregon never looked back.

“I see him working everyday,” Cousinard said about his trust in Shelstad. “I know he put the time in and I trust him to take those shots.”

The scoring got opened early with an easy layup for Kwame Evans Jr. who looked to build on a career-high performance in the last game for the Ducks. Brennan Rigsby was able to make a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give Oregon a slight 7-4 advantage four minutes into the game.

Unfortunately for Oregon, a large scoring drought followed those baskets. UCLA was able to go on a 7-0 run while holding the Ducks scoreless for over four minutes. A three-pointer from Cousinard finally stopped the drought for Oregon, and in turn, opened the floodgates. The Ducks scored on five straight offensive possessions to take back the lead from the Bruins. 

Oregon was able to leverage that advantage to make a 14-6 run over a four minute period halfway through the first half. This led to a 21-17 Ducks lead with eight minutes left in the opening half.

Neither Oregon nor UCLA was able to gain any ground on the scoreboard for the rest of the quarter. The biggest lead from the Ducks during the stretch was just four points. However, they were able to keep the Bruins from taking the lead. A late basket from UCLA’s Sebastian Mack cut the lead to just two points at 33-31 right before the half.

Oregon’s lack of size was apparent in the first half, as the Ducks were unable to stop UCLA’s Adem Bona from dominating the paint. Bona scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half. He also caused foul problems for a couple Oregon players who tried to slow him down.

“Second chance [points], we were down 7-0 at half,” Dana Altman, head coach of the Ducks, said about the offensive rebounding difference. “We got nine offensive rebounds in the second half, which at least gave us some energy.”

The Bruins were able to tie the game shortly after the second half began, before eventually taking their first lead since 13-12 on a Dylan Andrews three-pointer to make the score 38-37. That make from deep came in the middle of a 9-0 run for UCLA.

Oregon responded with two straight threes, one from Cousinard and another from Shelstad to regain the lead, and the momentum. Shelstad followed up with two more three-pointers to make the Ducks’ run 12-2 to bring the score to 49-44 in favor of Oregon.

“The turning point of the game there, at the fifteen minute mark we were down five, and at the eleven minute mark we’re up five,” Altman said about the momentum shift. “Our defense picked up, Jackson hit a couple shots there and the game just flipped.”

UCLA finally broke its scoring drought with a three-pointer after more than five minutes since its last points. Just when the Bruins seemed to be getting some momentum, another three from the Ducks, this time from Jadrian Tracey, brought the lead to 54-49.

A deep three-pointer for Shelstad was immediately followed by a steal and layup from Cousinard to help the Ducks take their largest lead of the game at seven points with four and a half minutes left in the game. 

Oregon picked a very poor time to go ice cold from the field. Four minutes without any points allowed UCLA to cut the lead late in the game. Bona continued to prove a problem for the Ducks inside, as he scored on two straight possessions to narrow the lead back down to three points at 60-57 with just under three minutes remaining in the game. A jumper from Andrews with 30 seconds left made the score 60-59. 

Oregon was able to break the Bruins full-court press and got an easy dunk from Evans Jr. The Ducks’ defense was able to hold and a pair of free throws from Shelstad, who finished with 20 points, sealed the deal for Oregon in a 64-59 win.