EUGENE, Ore. — You have to want it more.
Playing on the road against a team craving victory, UCLA coach Mick Cronin said this week his Bruins would need to match, if not exceed, the physical and emotional output of Oregon to prevail at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks were on the fringes of most NCAA tournament projections, leaving them in need of a signature victory against a nationally ranked team on national television.
In the final minutes, after UCLA wiped out a double-digit deficit with some inspired play Thursday night, the Ducks wanted it more.
Oregon’s De’Vion Harmon rose for a tough three-pointer near the end of the shot clock. Eric Williams Jr. anticipated an entry pass for UCLA’s Cody Riley and stole it. Jacob Young banked in a contested layup. And, in the final indignity, Williams threw down a vicious dunk off a Young lob.
For No. 12 UCLA, it added up to a 68-63 loss to the underdog Ducks on a night the Bruins finished the game without an injured Johnny Juzang and a fouled-out Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Oregon students stormed the court in celebration of a season sweep over the Bruins (20-6 overall, 12-5 Pac-12), whose lead over the Ducks (18-10, 10-7) for third place in the conference standings was cut to two games.
UCLA’s offense went cold, particularly from long range, and its defense couldn’t quite replicate the performances it turned in during a recent three-game homestand in which it had held every opponent under 60 points. The Bruins made just four of 24 three-pointers (16.7%) and failed to sustain offensive rhythm except for one stretch in the second half.
The Bruins fell behind by 13 points six minutes into the second half, a deficit all the more frightening with Juzang, their leading scorer, sidelined with a right ankle injury he suffered late in the first half.
Seeking a spark, Cronin found a big one in Peyton Watson. The freshman guard buried a jumper, converted a nifty pass from Riley into a reverse layup and swatted a Will Richardson layup out of bounds.
When Jaquez put back his own miss, the Bruins had completed a 12-1 run to take a 54-53 lead. But the Ducks scored six consecutive points to regain control and not even a Riley three-point play in which he followed a driving layup with a free throw could help his team catch up.
Riley and point guard Tyger Campbell scored 12 points each to lead the Bruins, who shot 36.8% to Oregon’s 43.8%.
Harmon scored 17 points to lead four Ducks in double figures.
Coming off his best three-game stretch of the season, UCLA guard Jaylen Clark remained in the starting lineup even upon the return of Campbell from the shoulder injury that forced him to miss the Bruins’ game against Arizona State on Monday. Clark immediately announced his presence with a putback dunk and a baseline floater for the Bruins’ first four points.
Offense was hard to come by for UCLA in the first half. The Bruins spent much of the game’s early going playing from behind after the Ducks got off to a hot shooting start against a mostly solid defensive effort that included seven steals in the first half. The Bruins didn’t help themselves, Riley missing two free throws and Campbell giving the Ducks three free throws when he fouled Young on a three-point attempt.
In an oddity, Juzang did not take a shot until there were nine minutes left before halftime, swishing a baseline jumper. He made two of six shots in a couple of minutes before injuring his right ankle on a drive with 5:41 left in the first half and limping off the court. Juzang tested his ankle with some movements in a hallway leading to the locker room as play resumed.
Campbell briefly pulled the Bruins into a 27-27 tie with a jumper before the Ducks rolled off five consecutive points, including a play in which Campbell committed a turnover only to job back on defense and allow Harmon to hit an open jumper.
In a symbolic end to the first half, Watson blocked a layup but the Bruins couldn’t get off a shot before time expired, Riley’s jumper released after the clock had reached 00:00.
