LOS ANGELES – UCLA(16-6, 7-4) thumped No. 16 Oregon(16-5, 5-5) 78-52 at Pauley Pavilion, 78-52, on Thursday with a combination of lock-down defense and stellar scoring performances across the team.
The Pauley Pavilion was packed to the rafters for the matchup of two storied programs, and the crowd shook the Pavilion with their cheers the whole night.
UCLA junior forward Tyler Bilodeau returned to the court for the Bruins for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the third minute of a game against Washington last Friday and he made his presence known. The Bruins’ top scorer returned to form scoring 15 points, tied for the second-most on the team, while shooting 5-8 from the field.
The Bruins emerged with the lead early in the first half, outscoring the Ducks 13-6 in the first five minutes of the game.
“We jumped on them early, I thought that was key,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said. “We came out of the engagement being highly efficient on offense.”
Oregon briefly brought UCLA back down to earth, cutting the score down to a 21-18 UCLA lead with 9:42 remaining in the first half, but the Bruins responded with a 9-0 to restore some cushion to their lead with 4:23 remaining in the first half.
Sophomore center Aday Mara blocked a shot amidst a scramble of players, Bruins and Ducks alike. UCLA senior guard Kobe Johnson rebounded the loose ball and took it down the court for an around-the-world layup on the fast break to put Pauley Pavilion in an uproar with the Bruins up 40-24 with 35 seconds left in the first half.
The first half could be summed up with several statements, but one in particular:
The Ducks shot more often from three. The Bruins shot better.
UCLA knocked down 5-13 from beyond the arc in the first half, compared to just three made threes by Oregon.
UCLA sophomore swingman Eric Dailey Jr. led both teams in points with 21, shooting 8-9 from the field while going perfect from three and in free throws. Cronin commended Dailey’s efforts both on and off the court, and stated that his play was the fruit of those labors.
“He [Dailey Jr.] was dominant,” Cronin said. “He’s the most dedicated guy I’ve ever coached on his diet, his rest, his commitment to what he wants to accomplish in basketball. And it shows.”
Oregon outscored the Bruins through roughly the first eight minutes and cut the score down to just a 10 point lead for UCLA.
That comeback was halted with a 7-0 scoring run by the Bruins in response, and the momentum shifted and stayed firmly in the UCLA corner the rest of the game.
The UCLA defense showed a continuous ability to shut down Oregon scorers. That was no more apparent than in the box score of Oregon sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad, one of the top scoring Ducks, who was held pointless in the game.
Mara lorded over an Oregon senior guard TJ Bamba as Bamba tried to pop up a shot in the paint and rejected it with authority, all seven-foot-three of him rising to swat the ball away. Mara would be fed the ball seconds later fresh off a steal by senior guard Kobe Johnson to slam down a dunk and add to the Bruins lead 50-38 with 13:14 remaining in the game.
Mara rebounded in the Oregon paint and hurled a pass that reached Dailey Jr. just past mid-court. Dailey Jr. picked up the feed and turned it into a slam dunk that sent the Pauley Pavilion crowd into orbit amidst what became a 12-0 run for the Bruins. They went up 72-44, their largest lead in a game since their rout of Iowa, with 4:37 remaining.
“My teammates trust me, making certain shots,” Dailey Jr. said. “The fans were there… it was good having the crowd, that really gets the energy going.”
There wasn’t much else for the Ducks to do as the Bruins outplayed them across the floor. The Bruins finally finished the Ducks off by the massive margin of 78-52 to seal the UCLA’s fifth-straight win.
The Bruins look to keep the hot streak going when they host Michigan State at home in the Pauley Pavilion Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 7pm.
“Very proud of our guys for this stretch of games,” Cronin said. “It's been a long grind for us since December.”