UCLA Breezes Past Oregon 82-63, Move On To Pac-12 Semis
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Jordan Adams scored 15 points and UCLA ran away from Oregon with a big second-half run for an 82-63 rout over the Ducks in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament on Thursday night.
UCLA (24-8) had a superb night shooting and clamped down on Oregon in the second half to turn what had been a close game into a runaway after halftime.
The Bruins opened the second half with a huge run and kept dropping shots, hitting 57 percent from the floor to advance to Friday's semifinals against the Stanford-Arizona State winner.
Travis Wear and Zach LaVine added 14 points each for UCLA.
The Ducks (23-9) matched the Bruins in the first half, but had no answer when they started to pull away, ending an eight-game winning streak.
Joseph Young was the only Oregon player to have any sustained success against UCLA, scoring 29 points.
The Ducks shouldn't have to worry too much; they should be a lock for the NCAA tournament when Selection Sunday rolls around.
The opening Pac-12 quarterfinal was a blowout, the second one a defensive struggle.
The third one figured to be a blur with two of the conferences' best offensive and most athletic teams hooking up.
The Ducks were arguably the conference's best team at the end of the regular season, overcoming a shaky stretch by winning their final seven games. Oregon kept it going in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament, blowing past rival Oregon State with a big second-half run for an 88-74 victory.
UCLA stumbled a bit down the stretch, losing three of its final five games, including a not-so-great one to struggling Washington State in its finale. The Bruins played well enough before that to earn the Pac-12's No. 2 seed and a bye for the first round.
The game came as advertised, the teams zipping back and forth like it was a relay race, trading dunks, 3-pointers and athletic moves to the basket.
UCLA made 15 of 27 shots, Oregon 13 of 24, neither team able to get much separation.
Kyle Anderson had the highlight of the half, launching himself over Oregon's Richard Amardi for a dunk that had the crowd still buzzing 30 seconds later and left Mardi dazed on the floor.
The Bruins kept the reel rolling to start the second half, making eight of their first 10 shots during an 18-4 run that put them up 55-39.
UCLA made 15 of 26 shots in the second half and clamped down on the Ducks defensively, holding them to 35 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.