The anticipated battle of the sophomores never materialized on Thursday during UCLA’s 56-49 victory against Oregon.
The Bruins top two sophomores, Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar combined to score 26 points to outshine the Ducks’ sophomore class. Farmar finished with 14 points, four assists and three steals, two of which occurred during pivotal moments. Farmar stole the ball from Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks and scored on a fast break to unknot a 45-45 tie. Farmar then leaped to steal another Brooks’ pass and fed Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who was fouled and made both free throws, giving the Bruins a 49-45 lead with 3:27 remaining. The Ducks’ got no closer than three points the rest of the game.
“He (Farmar) is the leader of their team. He did a good job of stepping up and taking charge in the last half of the game,” Oregon’s Jordan Kent said. “It’s just what great players do. He’s a special player.”
Afflalo made all five of his free throws to reach double digits despite his shooting struggles. The 6-foot-5 guard, who averages slightly more than 17 points per game, hit only 3 of 10 shots from the field and 1 of 6 from three-point range.
“Defensively, we were really locked in and intense on the defensive end,” said Oregon guard Brandon Lincoln, who finished with 10 points. “But, we were out of rhythm on offense tonight.”
Oregon’s top sophomores, Malik Hairston, Maarty Leunen and Bryce Taylor, combined for 10 points on 5-of-21 shooting. Hairston, who entered the game averaging 15.2 points per game, was held scoreless in the second half and finished with six points.
“We tried to get it in his (Hairston’s) hands several times,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “I thought they did a good job on him defensively.”
Taylor, who was 1-of-5 shooting, scored two points, and Leunen (1 of 8 field goals, 0 for 3 from three point) also had two points.
“We were lucky on that (missed shots). Maarty Leunen’s a heck of a player,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “He missed about three wide-open threes that, if he’s healthy the last three weeks, he knocks down.”
Ivan Johnson (10 points) and Lincoln led the Ducks offensively. Mbah a Moute, a freshman, paced the Bruins by scoring 15.
Iron Unkind for Ducks Oregon’s 49 points is its lowest output since a 48-45 loss at Oregon State in 1999. The Ducks’ previous low this season was 52 points, scored both in a win against Washington State (Jan. 19) and a loss to Portland State (Dec. 27).
The Bruins outscored the Ducks 19-7 during the last 7:52 of the game after falling behind 42-37 following a three-pointer from Lincoln – one of only three shots Oregon made from beyond the arc.
“They (UCLA) grinded out a basketball win on the road,” Kent said. “They made the right plays coming down the stretch.”
UCLA shot slightly better from three point range, connecting on 4 of 16. The Bruins shot 41 percent (19 of 46) from the field.
“I thought we were really good defensively,” Kent said. “We made key mistakes, I thought, mentally that allowed them to come back and take control of the game. We played well enough defensively to win this basketball game, we just did not shoot the basketball very well.”
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