LOS ANGELES — UCLA worked its inside game well, and the Bruins’ accurate outside shooting helped dismantle Oregon State’s zone defense.
Bryce Alford made five 3-pointers while scoring 22 points, Tony Parker added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and UCLA led all the way in winning 75-59 Wednesday night.
The Bruins (15-10, 7-5 Pac-12) improved to 51-7 against the Beavers in games played in Los Angeles, having won 11 in a row.
“We’re just playing harder and playing tough. We got a lot of good stops,” said Parker, who didn’t play in UCLA’s earlier loss to the Beavers because of back spasms. “When we guard like that it’s hard to beat us.”
The Bruins dominated the boards, 41-23, including a 28-16 edge on the defensive glass.
“Their big fella Tony Parker beasted us in the post a little bit,” Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle said. “Look at what they did to us on the glass. We weren’t as tough as we needed to be.”
Gary Payton II tied his career high with 24 points and Langston Morris-Walker added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Beavers (16-8, 7-5), who dropped into a fourth-place tie with the Bruins. Oregon State’s two-game winning streak ended.
UCLA has just six games remaining to move up in the standings and earn itself a high seed in the league tournament. It will need a strong showing in Las Vegas to have a shot at making the NCAA tournament.
“We had to beat a team that was right ahead of us,” Alford said. “We have to do the same thing on Saturday.”
Bruins coach Steve Alford said, “There’s a lot of teams bunched up still fighting for this thing. It’s going to be a great finish.”
The Bruins, who have won seven of their last 10, used 3-point shooting to build a 15-8 lead, with Alford hitting two of their first four. They made 10 3s in the game.
“It’s big to hit outside shots against the zone. It makes them adjust,” the younger Alford said. “They play a really good zone. We did that at the beginning and it hurt.”
Oregon State closed within three before UCLA outscored the Beavers 20-8 to end the first half leading 40-25. Alford hit consecutive 3s going into the break, giving the Bruins seven in the half. They shot 55 percent and owned a 21-12 edge on the boards.
UCLA maintained its double-digit lead in the second half, with Alford’s fifth 3-pointer stretching the Bruins’ lead to 51-34. Isaac Hamilton, who finished with 16 points and a career-high nine assists, followed with a 3 to make it 54-38.
The Bruins continued pulling away even as Parker picked up his fourth foul. They made 8 of 10 free throws during one stretch for their largest lead of the game, 70-50.
“We tried to play hard and using our bodies to get low post touches where they had to foul us,” Parker said. “It worked in our favor.”
The Beavers improved their shooting to 54 percent in the second half after being held to 27 percent in the first 20 minutes.
TIP-INS
Oregon State: The Beavers haven’t beaten UCLA in LA since Feb. 1, 2003. … They fell to 0-5 in league play when an opponent shoots over 40 percent.
UCLA: The Bruins improved to 5-0 in Pac-12 games at home. … The attendance of 6,346 was the smallest for a league home game so far. … They split the season series, having lost 66-55 on the road on Jan. 22. … UCLA came in averaging six 3s.
AT THE LINE
Parker made 7 of 9 free throws while the Bruins were 21 of 30 from the line.
Asked the last time he shot such a high percentage, Parker joked, “I was a really good free throw shooter in rec league in third grade. It was a lower basket. I think that had something to do with it.”
OH-FER
Three of Oregon State’s five starters failed to make a field goal.
Malcolm Duvivier missed all six of his attempts, Olaf Schaftenaar missed all four of his and Daniel Gomis blanked on the only shot he took.
“When we’ve got six or seven guys we play and a few of them come up 0-fer, it’s tough,” Tinkle said. “But tonight, it was our defensive effort. I’m disappointed because we didn’t show toughness.”
UP NEXT
Oregon State: At Southern California on Saturday.
UCLA: Host Oregon on Saturday.
