Oregon Stuns No. 3 UCLA in OT for Altman’s 700th Win

Jacob Young’s 23-piece boosts the Ducks to an upset win in barn-burner at Pauley Pavilion.

First Half

Five fouls were called in the first two and a half minutes of this Pac-12 showdown, but it didn’t take long for the offenses to get going. The Ducks have excelled all year in quick possessions, and they got some speedy buckets from guards Will Richardson and Jacob Young to take an early lead. But back-to-back three-pointers from Bruins’ Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard gave UCLA an 8-6 lead at the first TV timeout.

Right after the break, Jaime Jaquez Jr. got big Franck Kepnang up in the air on the perimeter for the easy slam. One play after being called for goaltending, Kepnang flew in to reject Jaylen Clark’s layup attempt. A bit of solace for Oregon who was down 14-8 with 11:40 to play in the first.

Both teams faced shooting and turnover troubles throughout the half. In this time, N’Faly Dante helped the Ducks to slow down the game with three contested buckets down low to give Oregon the edge at 20-19. UCLA’s five-star freshman Peyton Watson made two huge plays to wake up the Bruins. First, he jumped to block the towering Kepnang at the rim. A few possessions later, Watson grabbed an offensive board and found himself an open three, pushing UCLA back into the lead.

Oregon tried to play catch up to close the half, but UCLA’s defense wouldn’t let up. The Ducks ended the first making just three of their last 13 field goals. A buzzer mishap gave Quincy Guerrier an easy slam off of Eric Williams Jr.’s halfcourt hoist to end the half at 35-30 with UCLA in the lead.

Second Half

The Ducks started the second half lightning fast. Williams knocked in a three ball, then Young raced down the court for the game-tying layup. Young, Williams and Richardson all connected from downtown, giving the Ducks four three-pointers early in the half, a 9-0 run, and the 44-37 lead. The Ducks had only made one three-pointer in the first half.

It didn’t take long for UCLA to get back in the game. Watson continued to have the best game of his young collegiate career, knocking down a three, and next time down the court he hit a spin move to find an open Cody Riley for an and-one opportunity. Oregon saw Richardson and Williams get into foul trouble, giving UCLA the chance to seize a one-point lead.

The two teams traded buckets in the middle of the second, but the quick play of the Ducks gave them the edge again. The Ducks’ bench exploded when De’Vion Harmon took a fast break to the hole for the and-one. The offenses grinded to a halt in the final two minutes, but Dante and Richardson came up huge, each hitting both two throws to take a 73-67 lead with 46 seconds remaining. With the game seemingly all but wrapped up, Oregon terribly fumbled two inbounds plays in a row to let UCLA tie the game and send it to overtime.

Overtime

Richardson avenged his last-second miss quickly. He scored the first points of OT then hit another tough layup. But UCLA’s shooters Juzang and Bernard responded each time to keep the score knotted. It would be Jacob Young to step up and make the difference for Oregon. He hit two tough mid-range jumpers on either side of Jaquez’s two missed free throws and gave Oregon the huge 84-81 upset. Young was Oregon’s player of the game, collecting 23 points after scoring just four in the first half. Juzang matched Young’s total of 23 on the losing side.

The Ducks are finding their groove, winning five of their last six and four straight. Dana Altman earned his 700th career win, becoming the 24th Division I head coach to reach that mark.

Oregon improves to 10-6 and 3-2 in the Pac-12, but Altman’s team has another huge test in front of them as they head 20 minutes east to Galen Center on Saturday for a date with the No. 5 USC Trojans (13-1, 3-1 Pac-12) at 8:00 p.m. on FS1.

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