LOS ANGELES (AP) - After an outstanding start and a major slump, the Oregon Ducks are on a roll again. Whether or not it continues and results in a bid to the NCAA Tournament remains to be seen.
Joseph Young scored 26 points including the go-ahead 3-pointer in the second overtime, Mike Moser pulled down a season-high 20 rebounds, and Oregon outlasted short-handed UCLA 87-83 Thursday night.
The Ducks won their first 13 games of the season and were ranked as high as 10th before losing eight of their next 10, although the final three losses were by two points each including a 70-68 setback to the Bruins in Eugene last month.
Oregon (19-8, 7-8 Pac-12) has rebounded to win its last four.
“We found a way and this time of year you need to do that,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “I am really disappointed we didn’t finish out like we needed to but the guys showed some resilience and found a way.”
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 freshman Bryce Alford with 6.8 seconds left to draw within one point and had a chance to take the lead after an Oregon turnover, but freshman Zach LaVine missed from long range and Oregon got the rebound before Young’s foul shots appeared to clinch the victory. It didn’t happen that way, but the Ducks persevered.
“This team has a lot of heart,” Moser said. “We are trying to own this season and keep it on track. It was really a good win.”
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. Alford said the pair will return to action Sunday night when the Bruins entertain Oregon State in their final home game of the season.
“Oregon kept coming at us, but I thought our young guys did a lot of good things,” the coach said, adding that the decision to suspend Adams and Anderson was made Thursday afternoon. He would not elaborate.
“We keep things internal,” Alford said. “They broke team rules, both of them. That was a very tough thing. It was a one-game suspension; they’ll be back at practice tomorrow. They were sitting there and supporting their teammates. Our players really responded to their support.”
It took a while as the Bruins shot just 8 for 26 in the first half and trailed 37-25 at the intermission. They shot 18 for 40 after halftime and 39.4 percent overall. Oregon shot 38.1 percent.
Jason Calliste added 18 points, Moser had 12 points to go with his 20 rebounds, and Richard Amardi added 12 points for the Ducks, who outrebounded the Bruins 50-38.
Bryce Alford led the Bruins (21-7, 10-5) with a career-high 31 points and six assists. LaVine added 18 points and eight rebounds and Norm Powell scored 14 for UCLA.
Young’s 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining in the second overtime 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.
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.
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.
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