Leading up to Thursday’s matchup in Los Angeles, Oregon men’s basketball (10-6, 3-2 Pac-12) had won two straight, but 15 games into the season, it still sought a signature, statement victory. Head coach Dana Altman’s squad had its chance to pull one off in Pauley Pavilion and delivered.
Oregon beat No. 3 UCLA, 84-81, gaining a massive road victory and propelling the program back into relevance in Altman’s 700th career win.
“Really happy for the team,” Altman said. “It’s been a frustrating period for all of us. As a coach, a teacher, you want your guys to perform well, and we’ve been doing C and D work when we should be doing A and B work.”
UCLA gut-checked the Ducks several times on Thursday and never went away. When the Ducks would gain distance, they’d respond, and when the Bruins needed a basket, their stars saw it done.
Oregon was tested once more in the final 20 seconds, as an inbound turnover allowed UCLA to force overtime. But the Ducks held on, sealing out the night with 11 overtime points, while allowing eight and claiming the victory.
Oregon bigs N’Faly Dante and Franck Kepnang made it difficult for UCLA guards to drive to the basket all night long, stepping into lanes, chasing down blocks and snatching rebounds.
Through the first 20 minutes, Kepnang led the team with four rebounds as Dante was the Ducks’ top scorer, with 9 points through the first 20 minutes. Dante leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage, converting on 69.2% of his shots this season.
On the back of Johnny Juzang, UCLA was able to hit shots when they needed to and keep the Ducks at bay early on.
Juzang finished the night with 23 points — a team high.
But as the bigs produced, Oregon’s season-long struggle for consistency from beyond the arc remained. The Ducks shot 11% from the 3-point line through the first 20 minutes, converting only 1-of-11.
Heading into halftime, the Ducks remained in a close game with the Bruins, trailing by 5 in a game they began as 9.5-point underdogs.
In the first four minutes of the second half, Oregon flipped the script, scoring 9 straight points, shooting four for four from 3 and perfect from the field. In five quick minutes, Oregon came back and assumed a 9-point lead— their largest edge of the game.
The Ducks put it all together when it mattered.
Forwards Jacob Young and Eric Williams Jr. joined in on the scoring, each reaching double digit points.
The two finished the night with 23 and 10, respectively, combining for three 3s along the way.
“I think [Williams Jr.] is the X-Factor,” Oregon point guard Will Richardson said. “He gives us more size on the wing, he can switch to the three from the four and he gives us another shot maker. When he plays well, we have an extra boost behind us.”
In the final 10 minutes, the Ducks began to play their most cohesive, well-rounded iteration of the night, and perhaps their season. The guards produced, the bigs continued to grab rebounds and dominate the paint and arguably most important, the deep ball kept falling.
By the end of it, Oregon shot 31% from 3 — a marked improvement from a gravelly and unpolished start.
“We haven’t fought adversity well throughout the year, but we sure showed a little growth tonight,” Altman said.
The Ducks will look to continue to build as they take on the No. 5 USC Trojans on Saturday night. If they can leave Los Angeles with a two-game win streak, they’ll find themselves well inside the national conversation.
