UCLA men defeat Oregon, tie Ducks for third in Pac-12
Norman Powell bounced back from a four-point game with a double-digit effort and monster jam that moved UCLA into a third-place tie in the Pac-12.
Powell scored 23 points, Kevon Looney added 18 and UCLA defeated Oregon 72-63 on Saturday in Los Angeles to tie the Ducks in the league standings with five games remaining.
The Bruins won their second straight and fifth in their last six games while improving to 13-1 at Pauley Pavilion this season.
“We’re really just playing well and it’s really helping us,” said Tony Parker, who had nine points. “Norman has been making big plays. He caught my lob, one of my Chris Paul plays of the day.”
Powell ended the first half with a monster dunk that he rated among the top five of his four-year career.
“I’ve never seen the pick and roll split like that,” Bruins coach Steve Alford said. “That was impressive.”
Jalil Abdul-Bassit hit a career-high seven 3-pointers in scoring a career-best 24 points for the Ducks, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Joseph Young added 18 points and Elgin Cook had 12 for Oregon.
The Ducks tied the game at 46-all early in the second half. From there, UCLA went on an 18-10 run to extend its lead to 64-56. Powell scored 11 points in the spurt.
Southern Cal 68, Oregon State 55: Elijah Stewart scored 19 points, Katin Reinhardt added 16 and the Trojans snapped their nine-game losing streak with a win over the Beavers in Los Angeles.
Stewart, who was elevated to the starting lineup because of an injury to point guard Jordan McLaughlin, made a career-high five 3-pointers and shot 6 of 12 from the field. The 6-foot-5 freshman guard also had five rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks.
Langston Morris-Walker scored 17 points and Gary Payton II finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists to lead Oregon State.
| Arizona | 9 | 2 | 21 | 3 |
| Utah | 9 | 2 | 19 | 4 |
| Oregon | 8 | 5 | 18 | 8 |
| UCLA | 8 | 5 | 16 | 10 |
| Stanford | 7 | 5 | 16 | 8 |
| Oregon St. | 7 | 6 | 16 | 9 |
| California | 6 | 6 | 16 | 9 |
| WSU | 5 | 7 | 11 | 13 |
| Arizona St. | 4 | 7 | 12 | 12 |
| Colorado | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| Washington | 3 | 9 | 14 | 10 |
| USC | 2 | 11 | 10 | 15 |