UCLA basketball: Bruins get close, then throw game away
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UCLA chased, and closed, and got there. Then the Bruins let it slip away.
After Oregon squandered 10-point lead in the second half, Tajuan Porter sank a three-pointer and the Bruins then proceeded to play giveaway in a 70-68 loss at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday.
The Bruins had a chance to take the lead with a little more than a minute left after Jerime Anderson’s layup and free throw tied the score, 65-65. But Anderson turned the ball over on the next possession and Porter sank his three-pointer. Anderson then committed a second turnover, and the Ducks needed only to sink free throws from then on. They made two of five in the last 24 seconds, but it was enough.
Porter scored 29 points, making 11 of 20 shots. He was seven for nine on three-point attempts. Oregon made 10 of 14 from three-point range. UCLA shot 55%, but the Bruins were eight for 26 on three-point shots. They shot 80% (20 for 25) from inside the arc.
Michael Roll had 25 points for UCLA, which trailed, 59-49, with nine minutes left. Malcolm Lee, who had 18 points, pushed an 11-3 run with six points to close the gap.
Oregon missed its first six shots, then made 15 of 27 to take a 41-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Porter, a 5-foot-7 guard, scored 11 of his team’s first 13 points as Oregon forged an early 13-7 lead. Oregon went on an 8-0 run, during which UCLA Coach Ben Howland used three timeouts in 1 minute 54 seconds, to push the lead to 24-13.
UCLA’s shot selection, both by the Bruins’ own choosing and by the Ducks’ defense, was questionable early on. Of the Bruins’ first eight shots, seven were three-point attempts.
-- Chris Foster
Twitter.com/cfosterlatimes
