Oregon pressured Kyle Anderson all night, and it resulted in the UCLA point guard tying a season-low in points. What the Ducks couldn’t do was limit his contributions elsewhere.
Anderson hit just one field goal in the Bruins’ 70-68 road win, but made several key plays late in a game that see-sawed wildly for 40 minutes. With under a minute left, the sophomore cut down the right side of the lane, drawing an extra defender before dishing the ball to a wide-open Jordan Adams.
The shooting guard hit the layup and drew the foul, tying the game at 68 on the ensuing free throw. When Anderson front-rimmed a jumper on the next possession down, Adams quickly reached out to force a held ball — giving UCLA one more chance with 8.5 seconds left.
Adams lost the ball on a baseline drive, but it bounced right to forward Travis Wear for the go-ahead jumper.
With 5.3 seconds left, Oregon point guard Johnathan Loyd — playing with a face mask to protect a broken nose — streaked down the length of the court. As the 5-foot-8 senior tossed up a shot attempt, Anderson stretched out for a game-clinching block.
The 6-foot-9 Anderson finished with six points, 10 assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block, but was forced into a career-high nine turnovers. That mark was also an individual record at Matthew Knight Arena. Guarded by the diminutive Loyd for most the first half and by switching defenders in the second, he never found a groove offensively.
There to fill the void were Adams and junior Norman Powell, who scored 19 and 17 points, respectively. Of their 36 combined points, 28 came in the second half. Adams scored eight straight at one point, keying a 10-0 run midway through the second half. Powell highlighted his game with a filthy dunk on Richard Amardi.
After shooting 39.1 percent in the first half, the Bruins finished 45.1 percent from the field.
Powell also helped limit Oregon guard Joseph Young, who scored a game-high 25 points but only had four through the first 17 minutes of the second half. Young broke the drought a 3-point play that brought the Ducks back to within two points.
Not long afterward, Jason Calliste drilled a 3-pointer, capping a 12-0 run that put Oregon up 66-65 with 1:40 to go. Forward Richard Amardi hit two more free throws, but Adams took over after that to pull UCLA ahead.