UCLA Men's Basketball Recovers With Blowout Victory Over Oregon State
In its simplest form, basketball is about making shots and not letting your opponent score.
The Bruins did that and then some in Corvallis on Saturday.
No. 12 UCLA men's basketball (21-6, 13-5 Pac-12) handled last-place Oregon State (3-24, 1-16), sweeping the Beavers in the season series with a 94-55 victory. As was the case last time the two teams faced off, the Bruins were coming off a loss to Oregon two days prior in which it was unable to find much success from the field.
UCLA once again recovered with a win, but while the last meeting was tight until the final few minutes, this one was decided much, much earlier.
The Bruins' best offensive output of the conference season was spearheaded by their most 3-pointers of the conference season, in addition to all five starters scoring in double figures – and that was without leading scorer Johnny Juzang, who was out with a sprained ankle. UCLA also limited Oregon State to 36% shooting in the second half while forcing double-digit turnovers and converting those giveaways into 25 points on the other end.
The Bruins got things rolling early, seemingly flipping the switch on their ice cold performance in Eugene on Thursday. UCLA took a 7-2 lead with guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and guard Jaylen Clark each getting layups and guard Tyger Campbell knocking down a 3-pointer, but their offense hit a lull immediately following that torrid opening stretch.
UCLA went over three minutes without a point, allowing Oregon State to go up 14-9.
Guards David Singleton and Jules Bernard hit back-to-back 3s to go back ahead, though, and the Bruins never looked back. Singleton getting going from deep was nothing out of the ordinary, considering he was shooting 46.8% from deep and is the third-most efficient 3-point shooter in Pac-12 history, but Bernard's ability to hit from long range was a bit of a change of pace.
Bernard was shooting 33.7% from the field and 18.3% from 3 in his last 16 appearances entering Saturday. After Jaquez got an and-1 and 3-pointer to fall, followed by a few possessions of trading buckets, Bernard got a finger roll and another 3-pointer to give UCLA a double-digit lead and spark a 10-0 run.
That was was capped off by a Campbell 3-pointer that made it 41-24, making it a 32-10 run for the Bruins since the Beavers went up by five 12 minutes earlier. Oregon State didn't hit a single shot in the final four-plus minutes of the first half, and UCLA went into the locker room up 43-28.
Jaquez, Campbell and Bernard combined by 32 points in the first half alone, outpacing the Beavers all on their own. Oregon State did most of its work while forward Cody Riley was on the floor – only getting outscored 23-22 in his 12 minutes – but they only hit one field goal and scored six points when center Myles Johnson was UCLA's big.
Even though Riley drew an offensive foul and assisted Bernard on a layup early in the second half, he allowed a midrange jumper and missed a layup to knock his plus-minus into the negatives despite his team still being up by double digits.
Campbell drove for a quick layup, then hit a fast break corner 3 to get things under control, followed by Riley recovering with an and-1 in the post to make it a 19-point gap. But the Bruins wouldn't score again for another four minutes, regardless of whether it was Riley or Johnson down low.
The Beavers, however, scored just five points in that span, unable to truly stage a comeback. Coach Mick Cronin used a timeout to re-organize the offense, and Campbell once again got things back on track with a scoop layup.
After some free throws by Bernard, a fast break layup by Clark and a 3-pointer by Campbell off an out-of-bounds play, coach Wayne Tinkle tried to calm things down with a timeout, but it seemingly had the opposite effect.
Clark intercepted a pass that led to another fast break score, then he got another steal that turned into a 4-point play by Bernard. Jaquez added another 3-pointer a minute later, then Clark once again picked off a pass that led to a layup.
Guard/forward Peyton Watson made 1-of-2 free throws, making it a 22-0 run for UCLA.
It was more or less an even game from the point on, with the Bruins only extending their lead by another three points in the final eight minutes. That final stretch allowed forward Kenny Nwuba and guard/forward Jake Kyman to get in on the action as well, helping to seal the team's largest margin of victory all season long.
Campbell led the way with 20 points and five assists, not recording a single turnover, with Jaquez going for 17, Bernard putting up 16, Riley scoring 13 and Clark finishing with 10. Even without a bench player breaking six points, the Bruins' reserves outscored the shorthanded Beavers' 18-7.
Nearly ever category was heavily in the Bruins' favor by the time the final buzzer sounded, but hitting 13-of-20 3-point attempts trumped them all, and was a welcome sight for a team that went just 4-of-24 from long range two days earlier.
UCLA will wrap up its Pacific Northwest road trip Monday night against Washington, then have one game left in the regular season against USC back at Pauley Pavilion next Saturday.
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