The Jekyll-and-Hyde Oregon offense reared its ugly head Monday night as the Ducks scored a season low in their 70-62 loss to UCLA at McArthur Court.
Led by a strong defensive effort, the Bruins (7-3 overall, 1-1 Pacific-10 Conference) held the second-best shooting team in the Pac-10 to 37.0 percent in the first half, giving UCLA a 35-26 advantage at the break.
“The game got away from us in the first half,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “There were multiple offensive and defensive plays we did not take advantage of. We took too quick of shots and did not force UCLA to play defense for more than one or two passes.”
Oregon’s (9-2, 1-1) offense was kept afloat in the first half only because of center Mitch Platt. The Henderson, Nev., native went 5 of 5 from the field in the first half and finished the game with a career- and team-high 15 points.
But UCLA’s defensive pressure on Oregon guards caused turnovers and was the key to victory, UCLA head coach Ben Howland said.
“This was a big victory for us in a tough environment,” Howland said. “Our defense played great during the first 10 minutes of the game. We also took better care of the ball in the second half and were more patient.”
Kent said UCLA’s defensive effort wasn’t as much the cause of Oregon’s lackluster offensive performance as was their inability to focus.
“I give UCLA credit, but I felt this had nothing to do with their defense as much as it had to do with our mental approach,” Kent said. “We were out of our rhythm and made a lot of careless turnovers. We were not as sharp and didn’t come to play with the right amount of intensity.”
Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks, who admittedly had an off-day with 14 points on 4 of 12 shooting and four turnovers to one assist, agreed.
“I just couldn’t get myself on track,” Brooks said. “They did a great job on transition, and we didn’t get out a run.”
After trailing at halftime, the Ducks would claw their way back to within two points thanks to excellent bench play from Brandon Lincoln and Jordan Kent.
“Jordan and Brandon brought a lot of energy to us late in the game and helped us get back in the game,” Ernie Kent said.
The Ducks were within two at 56-54, but UCLA senior Brian Morrison hit a deep three pointer at the top of the key to boost the Bruins and cut the momentum out from under Oregon.
Morrison’s three pointer was the last of five he would hit in the game, accounting for all 15 of his points.
“We knew about Morrison coming into the game and knew he was a big time three point shooter,” Kent said.
The Bruins would ice the game, making 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch.
The victory marks the first time UCLA has won at McArthur Court since 2001 and breaks a 10-game winning streak the Ducks had
at home.
For the Ducks, their two starting freshmen — Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor — combined for 3 of 10 from the field, scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out 3 assists, turned the ball over four times and only took one shot in the second half, numbers way below Kent’s expectations.
“He’s a guy that needs to be a factor,” Kent said of Hairston. “The two of them need to (combine) and give us Luke Jackson-type numbers.”
On a positive note, freshman Maarty Leunen put in another solid day of work, grabbing 10 rebounds while scoring six points and collecting a steal.
