Ball, Leaf lead Bruins to bounce-back win

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Despite shooting a season-low 44.1 percent from the field, the UCLA men’s basketball team closed out Oregon State on Friday to bounce back from its first loss of the season with a 76-63 victory.

The No. 2 Bruins (14-1, 1-1 Pac-12) needed big second-half performances from their pair of fantastic freshmen to stave off an OSU team that’s lost seven of its past eight games. The Beavers (4-11, 0-2 Pac-12) came back from a six-point halftime deficit to tie the game at 38-38 with 16:22 left.

Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf led the Bruins with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Leaf added 10 rebounds after the freshman forward struggled to impact the game against Oregon on Wednesday. Ball went on a personal 7-0 scoring run in less than a minute that helped push the Bruin lead to 14 points with 6:13 left.

Aaron Holiday had 14 points and six assists off the bench.

UCLA overcame the relatively poor shooting night by feasting on Oregon State miscues. The Bruins scored 33 points off 16 Beaver turnovers and had 14 fastbreak points.

Isaac Hamilton struggled with his shot for the second straight game as he was held scoreless on 0-for-10 shooting (0-for-5 from 3-point range). He scored only two points against Oregon, shooting 1 for 6 from the field.