UCLA basketball: UCLA pulls away for 69-61 victory over Oregon State
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UCLA got its patented collapse out of the way in the first half for a change.
The Bruins nearly squandered an 18-point lead in the latter portion of the first half before getting their act together and pulling away for a 69-61 victory over Oregon State on Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA (18-7 overall, 9-3 Pacific 10 Conference) led by as many as 22 points in the second half on the way to its fifth consecutive victory. Junior guard Malcolm Lee scored 19 points before fouling out and sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt had nine points and a career-high eight blocked shots for the Bruins, the most by any player in the Pac-10 in a game this season this season.
The Bruins blocked 16 shots as a team, but also committed 26 turnovers against the Beavers’ pressing, trapping defense.
There was an embarrassing stretch late in the game for the Bruins after Coach Ben Howland inserted walk-ons Alex Schrempf, Blake Arnet, Matt DeMarcus and Tyler Trapani with 58 seconds left. Arnet and DeMarcus committed quick turnovers that led to a basket and a pair of free throws by the Beavers, and Howland was forced to put his starters back in the game with 43 seconds remaining to restore order.
The Beavers (9-15, 4-9) drew to within four points early in the second half before UCLA embarked on a 12-4 run to take control. Jared Cunningham led Oregon State with 14 points.
UCLA shot 48.7% to Oregon State’s 32.9%.
We’ll have more later at www.latimes.com/sports.
--Ben Bolch