LAS VEGAS — Dylan Andrews sped for UCLA’s life, pushing the pace, the season in the hands of a star who’d asserted himself in Vegas as final seconds ticked away.
The Bruins had come this far, enough to earn one final possession this Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal matchup against Oregon on Thursday, from down 10 to a chance to win. And with UCLA down a point and Andrews freewheeling up the floor, the sophomore guard saw a sliver of daylight, beating Oregon’s Jadarian Tracey down the floor and opening a runway to the paint. With Oregon’s N’Faly Dante leaping to contest, Andrews lofted a high-arcing floater that came down to earth as the buzzer sounded.
It clanked off rim. Ballgame. 68-66 loss. And UCLA center Adem Bona put his hands to his temple, unable to accept what’d just happened, the Bruins clawing their way back against a talented Oregon team, only for their NCAA Tournament hopes to crumble in an instant.
Andrews caught fire in the final minutes to pull fifth-seeded UCLA back, hitting a pull-up jumper to kick off a 9-0 run, supplanted by a big-time corner 3-pointer from Lazar Stefanovic and ending on a pair of tough Andrews layups. The sophomore finished with 24 points, averaging 27.5 across two games in Vegas, a clear program cornerstone in the years to come – but it wasn’t enough to push UCLA over the edge.
The Bruins ended a back-and-forth first half up five, neither program shooting particularly well but Bruins freshman guard Sebastian Mack giving UCLA (16-17, 10-11 Pac-12) a big lift by getting to the line and finishing with 12 points before the break.
The fourth-seeded Ducks’ dynamic vet-and-rook backcourt of Jermaine Cousinard and freshman Jackson Shelstad responded in kind in the first minutes of the second half, Shelstad dropping in a beautiful floater off the glass after Bona shook his way to a layup on the other end. And the Ducks (21-11, 13-8 Pac-12) commenced a quick 6-0 run to regain the lead, UCLA’s offense grinding to a…
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