The Oregon men’s basketball team’s trip to Los Angeles got off to a disappointing start on Thursday as the Ducks fell 64-54 to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.
Oregon (12-12, 5-7 Pacific-10 Conference) kept the game close throughout, but simply could not contend with UCLA (17-7, 8-3 Pac-10) on the boards. The Bruins finished with 39 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive side of the ball, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Things looked promising early on for the Ducks, and a pair of three-pointers from seniors Jay-R Strowbridge and Joevan Catron gave them an eight-point lead early in the first half. UCLA would quickly climb back into the game, but Oregon still led 28-25 at the intermission.
Of course, the Bruins shot just 9 of 26 from the field in the first half, and a repeat performance could not be expected after the break. Sure enough, UCLA found its stroke as the game went on.
Oregon sophomore E.J. Singler hit a quick jumper to give Oregon a five-point lead early in the second half, but the Bruins were quick to respond. Junior guard Lazeric Jones hit a three-pointer, and sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt quickly followed with a layup to tie the game at 30.
From there, the teams traded baskets until Oregon junior forward Tyrone Nared hit a jumper to give the Ducks a 39-37 edge with 10:12 remaining. It would be Oregon’s final lead of the game.
Oregon could not control UCLA in the paint as the game winded down, and Bruin guard Malcolm Lee caught fire. The junior scored 12 points over the final 7:35 of play, sealing the game for UCLA. When the final whistle blew, Lee had a game-high 25 points.
For Oregon, Catron led the way with 15 points, while Strowbridge added 14. Junior guard Malcolm Armstead chipped in 10 points and seven assists.
Oregon shot just 39.6 percent from the field, and missed 15 of its 21 three-point attempts. The Ducks were also outrebounded by 15.
Oregon’s next game will be on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against USC.
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