Takeaways: Oregon men's basketball gets cold late in loss to UCLA Bruins
Oregon was able to overcome a slow start and a double-digit deficit in the first half.
It couldn’t survive a slump at the end.
The Ducks went cold in the final minutes Saturday in Pauley Pavilion, as they lost 71-63 to UCLA in a Pac-12 men’s basketball game in Los Angeles.
Oregon (15-7, 7-4 Pac-12) scored two points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field in the final 4:29 as UCLA (11-11, 6-5) used a 9-2 run to turn a 62-61 lead into an eight-point win — the fifth victory in six games for the Bruins.
The loss dropped Oregon out of its first-place tie in the conference standings with Arizona, which plays Stanford Sunday night.
“We made too many mistakes to beat a team that is playing pretty good,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said during his postgame radio interview on KUJZ-FM.
N’Faly Dante led the Ducks with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Jadrian Tracey tied his season high with 15 points, and Jackson Shelstad had 10 points.
The Ducks shot 42.6% (23 of 54) from the field and 27.3% (6 of 22) from 3-point range — including 1-for-10 from deep in the second half. It was their worst 3-point shooting performance in 11 games. They were also outrebounded 36-30.
Dylan Andrews led the Bruins with 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds, and Lazar Stefanovic had 15 points and 10 rebounds. UCLA shot 44.8% (26 of 58) from the field and 50% (6 of 12) from 3-point range.
Oregon a mess early in the first half
The Ducks made just two of its first eight shots from the field in the opening 9:35 and allowed the Bruins to make eight of their first 12.
The result was a 23-5 deficit for Oregon at the 12:00 mark.
But Tracey got the Ducks rolling with a stretch of 11 points in the final 4:20 of the half on three straight 3-pointers and then a layup right at the end of the half as Oregon took a 34-33 lead into the break.
"That was the only four-, five-minute stretch we truly won," Altman said.
The Ducks trailed 57-48 midway through the second half but followed with a 10-1 run to tie the score at 58-58 with 5:23 to play.
After the Bruins went back up 62-58, Jermaine Couisnard made a 3-pointer to get the Ducks to within one point with 4:30 left. They didn’t score again until a layup by Shelstad in the final seconds.
Ducks delayed by President Joe Biden's motorcade
Oregon’s slow start to the game might have had something to do with its struggle just getting to Pauley Pavilion.
According to the ESPN broadcast crew, the Ducks’ bus was delayed getting to the arena due to road closures to accommodate President Joe Biden’s motorcade for his visit to Los Angeles Saturday.
The Ducks left their hotel at 5 p.m. for what should have been a short drive to the arena but were held up for nearly 90 minutes.
The team didn’t get to the arena until 6:30 p.m. and the game, which was scheduled to start at 7:10, was then delayed until 7:25.
Oregon continues to play shorthanded
For the second straight game, the Ducks were down to eight scholarship players.
Center Nate Bittle missed both games on the L.A. road trip with an illness. He didn’t attend the game Thursday against USC at Galen Center but was in attendance in street clothes on Saturday.
The Ducks were also without guard Keeshawn Barthelemy, who was injured last week against Arizona, forward Mookie Cook, who was hurt against Utah on Jan. 21 and guard Jesse Zarzuala, who was lost for the season in December.
What's next for Oregon
The Ducks are back home for a series against Washington and Washington State at Matthew Knight Arena. They'll play the Huskies (12-10, 4-7) at 7 p.m. Thursday on FS1 and the Cougars (16-6, 7-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday on the Pac-12 Networks. Oregon swept Washington and Washington State on the road the first weekend of January.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pac-12: Oregon Ducks men's basketball loses to UCLA Bruins
