UCLA 74, Oregon State 64
LOS ANGELES -- Freshman Shabazz Muhammad led UCLA with 21 points as the Bruins cruised to their 10th consecutive victory, 74-64 over the Oregon State Beavers at Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night.
Carrying a double-digit lead into the halftime locker room, the second half belonged to UCLA (15-3, 5-0 Pac-12). It was the Bruins' turn to get off to a hot start as they opened the second half on a 13-2 run, eventually building a 20-point lead they would not relinquish.
UCLA has not opened the conference season 5-0 since the 2003-2004 season, coach Ben Howland's first in Westwood.
Muhammad -- the Bruins' leading scorer -- returned to form Thursday. After scoring 20 points or more in five of six games, Muhammad combined for 20 points over two games on the Bruins' trip to Colorado and Utah last weekend.
Oregon State coach Craig Robinson turned to his bench in an attempt to provide a spark early in the second half before reinserting the starters midway through the second half. The Beavers (10-7, 0-4) then went on a 13-4 run to shave the lead back to 10.
Redshirt junior forward Travis Wear scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds for UCLA. Freshman Kyle Anderson also added 17.
The Beavers were led by Roberto Nelson, who scored 17 points. Sharp-shooting Oregon State freshman Olaf Schaftenaar posted a career high for the Beavers with 10 points. Schaftenaar's previous career high was nine points against Montana State on Nov. 25.
UCLA and Oregon State were headed in opposite directions prior to Thursday's Pac-12 conference matchup at Pauley Pavilion -- the Bruins were winners of four straight while the Beavers were winless through two weeks of conference play.
Early in the first half, Oregon State looked determined to buck that trend. The Beavers took advantage of some porous Bruin defense and shot off to a 12-7 lead, forcing coach Ben Howland to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, UCLA buckled down on defense -- the Bruins blocked five shots in the first half compared to just one for the Beavers -- and upped the tempo on its way to a 20-7 run, ultimately leading to an 11-point advantage at halftime. Seldom-used UCLA freshman Tony Parker had four straight points and a blocked shot during the run. Parker has yet to play more than 10 minutes in a conference game.
No. 24 UCLA capitalized on nine Oregon State turnovers in the first half, leading to 10 points. The Bruins turned it over just six times.
Wear led the Bruins with nine points in the first half. Wear has scored in double figures in UCLA's last six games. Oregon State guard Roberto Nelson led the way for the Beavers with 10 first-half points.
NOTES: Thursday's game was Oregon State's first road game of the conference season. The Beavers lost three straight at home to open Pac-12 play (Oregon, Arizona State and Arizona). ... UCLA point guard Larry Drew II leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.89) as of Jan. 12. ... Former Bruin and NBA standout guard Jamaal Wilkes' No. 52 was retired at halftime. ... Former UCLA center Bill Walton's Pac-12 tour stopped in Westwood on Thursday. Walton spoke with several hundred students before the game.
