LOS ANGELES — Joseph Young scored 26 points including the go-ahead 3-pointer in the second overtime, and Oregon outlasted short-handed UCLA 87-83 Thursday night.
The Bruins played without Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson, their top two scorers. The sophomore guards were suspended for the game for what first-year coach Steve Alford called a violation of team rules. They’re expected to return to action Sunday night when the Bruins entertain Oregon State in their final home game of the season.
Jason Calliste added 18 points, Mike Moser had 12 points and a season-high 20 rebounds and Richard Amardi added 12 points for the Ducks (19-8, 7-8 Pac-12), who outrebounded the Bruins 50-38 while winning their fourth straight despite blowing a 15-point lead.
Freshman Bryce Alford led the Bruins (21-7, 10-5) with a career-high 31 points and six assists. Freshman Zach LaVine added 18 points and eight rebounds and Norm Powell scored 14 for UCLA.
Young’s 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining snapped a 75-all tie. The Bruins got as close as one point twice after that but Oregon managed to hang on. Elgin Cook made four free throws and Johnathan Loyd added two in the final 27 seconds to help the Ducks maintain their lead.
Alford made two foul shots with 3:54 remaining for the first points of the first overtime, giving the Bruins their first lead since the opening 2 minutes of the game. Young scored the only other points of the first overtime on a layup following a steal with 1:34 left.
The Bruins forced overtime on a 3-point shot by David Wear as time expired, making it 71-all. The Ducks had taken a 71-68 lead on two foul shots by Young with 1.3 seconds remaining before Travis Wear threw a long pass to his brother, who connected from about 30 feet away.
The Bruins got a 3-pointer from Alford with 6.8 seconds left to draw within one point and had a chance to take the lead after an Oregon turnover, but LaVine missed from long range and Oregon got the rebound before Young’s foul shots appeared to clinch the victory.
UCLA’s loss — just its second in 17 games at Pauley Pavilion — enabled No. 4 Arizona (26-2, 13-2) to clinch a tie for the Pac-12 regular-season championship and give the Wildcats the top seed in the conference tournament.
Adams is averaging a team-leading 17.2 points along with 5.6 rebounds and a Pac-12-leading 2.9 steals per game, while Anderson is averaging 14.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists. He is the only player among Division I schools averaging more than 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
They were replaced in the starting lineup by Alford and LaVine, each making their first career start.
Moser’s 3-pointer early in the second half extended Oregon’s lead to 40-25 before the Bruins outscored the Ducks 12-4 to draw within seven points.
The Ducks scored the next seven points to double their lead, but a basket by Alford and seven straight points by Powell enabled the Bruins to trim Oregon’s lead to 51-46 with 8 minutes remaining.
The Ducks led by as many as 14 points in the first half before settling for a 37-25 lead. The 25 points were a first-half season-low for the Bruins, one fewer than they scored in a 74-69 loss at Utah last month.
Sophomore Damyean Dotson, who didn’t play in Oregon’s 67-53 victory over Washington State last Sunday after starting 60 straight games, returned to action and scored six points. Dotson, averaging 10.7 points, was cited and released early last Saturday for trying to use a fake I.D. to get into a campus area bar.
