Strong second half propels UCLA past Oregon State

Field Level Media|published: Fri Feb 02 2024 06:09
Feb 1, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Jordan Pope (0) and guard Dexter Akanno (4) defend UCLA Bruins forward Berke Buyuktuncel (9) in the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. credits: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Dylan Andrews, Lazar Stefanovic and Will McClendon combined for 29 second-half points and UCLA scored its fourth Pac-12 Conference win in the last five tries, holding off visiting Oregon State, 71-63, on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The Bruins (10-11, 5-5 Pac-12), who came in on a two-game winning streak, led for much of the way, but never by more than eight points.

Oregon State (11-10, 3-7), which remains winless away from home on the season with the loss, twice cut the deficit to one point late. But Andrews notched five of his 13 second-half points with a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper under duress, pushing the UCLA advantage to six points with 4:01 remaining.

The Bruins lead never dipped to fewer than four points the rest of the way.

Jordan Pope, who scored 14 points, connected on a 3-pointer with 3:09 remaining that pulled Oregon State to within four points, but McClendon answered on the next possession with a 3-pointer that caromed high off the rim before falling in.

McClendon scored all eight of his points after halftime and finished with a game-high seven rebounds.

Andrews and Adem Bona each scored 18 points for UCLA. Bona opened the game with a thunderous dunk, part of his 7-of-10 shooting from the floor for the game.

The Bruins went 25-for-59 from the floor overall, including 7-for-19 from 3-point range. Stefanovic, who scored 15 points, went 3-for-8 from beyond the arc. Andrews shot 2 of 3 from outside.

Tyler Bilodeau led Oregon State with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Dexter Akanno scored 13 points and Michael Rataj added 10 points.

The Beavers shot 24 of 47 from the floor and 5 of 14 from beyond the arc, but went just 10-for-17 at the free-throw line. UCLA went 14-of-19 at the charity stripe.

—Field Level Media

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