Whether it was behind the back, between the legs or bouncing off bodies mid-air, Oregon had no answer for UCLA’s Norman Powell and Kevon Looney as the Bruins topped Oregon 72-63 on Saturday afternoon in Pauley Pavilion.
Looney earned his 13th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Powell compiled 23 points. The two combined for over half of UCLA’s points in a dominant effort by the Bruins’ talented tandem.
Jalil Abdul-Bassit did his best to keep the Ducks in the game. The senior scored a career-high 24 points on 7-of-12 three pointers. Joseph Young added 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting to round out Oregon’s box score.
The key difference in the game came in the paint. UCLA exercised its significant size advantage to earn easy shots down low and a 51.1 percent shooting mark.
After Oregon’s hot start from three point range, the Ducks found themselves struggling to score against the bigger Bruins. Oregon was held to 39.3 percent shooting and struggled to find open shots throughout the game.
Even though the Bruins distanced themselves at the end of the game, the Ducks did keep things competitive.
After the Bruins burst out of the gates on a 10-2 run, Oregon netted a quick pair of three pointers to start a 21-8 run of its own. After trading baskets, UCLA reclaimed the lead with a 10-0 run to continue the back-and-forth half.
Abdul-Bassit made five three-pointers in the first half on what would turn out to be a career night for him on the scoreboard.
During the streaky first half, Oregon’s perimeter shooting provided most of the scoring. The Ducks shot 8-16 from three. Meanwhile, UCLA worked its way to the interior and outscored the Ducks 20-8 in the paint to power its way to a 41-40 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Oregon’s stream of three pointers ran dry and Powell took over. Looney was un-guardable down low while the rest of the Oregon lineup struggled to get anything done on offense.
Every time Oregon tried to make a run at UCLA’s narrow lead, the Bruins came up with a basket in the paint. Every time Oregon missed a basket, UCLA came up with the rebound. Looney’s double-double propelled the Bruins to a 37-24 edge on the boards.
Outside of Abdul-Bassit and Young, Oregon’s offense had a tough time finding opportunities to score. Elgin Cook finished with a quiet 12 points and five rebounds, while Dwayne Benjamin was held to just four points.
Jordan Bell continued his streak of rough games with no points, no shots, no blocks, two rebounds and two fouls. Dillon Brooks found himself in foul trouble early in the second half and finished with two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
After the loss, Oregon has two games remaining against teams in the RPI top 50 and will likely stay on the wrong side of the bubble following the loss to a team that has a relatively similar resume to its own.
Next up, the Ducks return home to face Colorado and await a big contest against Utah next week at Matthew Knight Arena.
Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter