LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team squandered an 18 point lead in the first half but used an 9-0 run late in the second half to pull away for a 71-63 win against Oregon at Pauley Pavilion Saturday night. It was the Bruins third straight win, and their fifth victory in the last six games and their first time back at .500 since Dec. 28.
UCLA (11-11 overall, 6-5 Pac-12) was led by sophomore guard Dylan Andrews with a game-high 21 points and seven assists, both nearly career-highs. Andrews had 13 points in the second half. Freshman guard Sebastian Mack had 16 points. Junior guard Lazar Stefanovic had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Oregon (15-7, 7-4 Pac-12) was led by senior center N’Faly Dante with 16 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Jadrian Tracey had 15 points but was held to two points in the second half. Freshman guard Jackson Shelstad added 10 points.
After UCLA established a 23-5 lead early, Oregon responded with a 29-10 run over the last 12 minutes of the first half, and the Ducks led 34-33 at halftime.
After a back-and-forth start over the first six minutes of the second half, UCLA freshman center Aday Mara scored four key points to help the Bruins take a 52-48 lead at the 11:48 mark of the second half. The Bruins used a 9-0 run, which was capped off with Andrews’ jump shot, to extend their lead to 57-48 with 9:35 to go.
However, the Ducks responded with 10-1 run, tying the game at 58 with 5:23 remaining. UCLA’s Stefanovic’s jump shot and two free throws put the Bruins up 62-58 with 4:44 to go.
UCLA’s Mack scored seven of the Bruins’ first 10 points, including a three-pointer and a nifty layup through traffic. UCLA led 10-3 with 15:56 left in the first half. However, Mack only played six minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls. Back-to-back buckets by sophomore forward Adem Bona and a three-pointer by Andrews, put the Bruins up 17-5, which forced Oregon coach Dana Altman to call a…
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