Bruins Fall to Oregon State in Pac-12 Tournament Quarterfinals
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LAS VEGAS – Jules Bernard totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds as the UCLA men's basketball team lost in overtime to Oregon State, 83-79, in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena.
The Bruins (17-9) and Oregon State traded leads in the final 45 seconds of regulation and ended with a 70-70 tie at the conclusion of the second half.
Oregon State (15-12) outlasted the Bruins in the five-minute overtime session to secure the win. The Beavers advanced to face No. 1-seed Oregon in the semifinal round on Friday evening.
"We gave up 58 percent in the second half and 50 [percent] from three," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "We knew Ethan Thompson was going to put his head down. If he lost, today was his last game. We weren't there. We didn't close the gap on the spin. I failed to get the job done, if you want to know the truth, defensively, with this team."
Coach Cronin, Postgame | J. Bernard, Postgame
UCLA (17-9, 13-6) led by as many 16 points in the first half, but could not close out Oregon State. Bernard finished with a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds), Johnny Juzang had 12 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. totaled 11 points.
"Since Chris [Smith] has gone down, and Johnny [Juzang] was out early, Jules has been rock solid for us all year," said Cronin. "He just has to keep his head up and keep getting better. He gets better because he works hard in practice. Every day, his effort is by far the most consistent of any guy on our team."
Oregon State benefited from a balanced scoring attack, as Warith Alatishe (22 points), Ethan Thompson (18 points), and Jarod Lucas (17 points) all had strong nights.
A pair of free throws from Thompson put Oregon State ahead in overtime, 76-74. Bernard answered for UCLA with a driving lay-in. The Beavers secured a one-point lead with under one minute to play. UCLA never converted in the final minute to tie the game or take the lead.
The Bruins took an early 9-3 lead on Thursday evening, courtesy of a 7-0 scoring stretch by Juzang. He and Bernard combined to score 17 of the Bruins' first 21 points, helping propel UCLA to a 21-12 lead with 9:48 to play in the first half. UCLA continued its hot start deep into the first half, notching a 7-0 scoring run to lead, 30-14.
A pair of threes from Jarod Lucas cut UCLA's lead to 34-24 at the end of the first half. Juzang led the Bruins with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting after the first 20 minutes.
Back-to-back buckets from Alatishe and Silva cut the Bruins' lead to five points, at 36-31, with 17:04 left in the second half. The Bruins led by five points with under 12 minutes to go in regulation before Tyger Campbell found Mac Etienne under the basket for the easy lay-in (at the 11:29 mark).
Oregon State tied the game, 45-45, after a 3-point shot from Lucas.
Free throws from Jaime Jaquez Jr. put the Bruins ahead 49-47 with 8:27 to play. Baskets from Campbell and Cody Riley extended the Bruins' cushion to five with under seven minutes remaining. A layup by Jaylen Clark pushed the Bruins' advantage to 65-60. Reichle nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner, cutting UCLA's cushion to two points at the 3-minute mark.
Campbell knocked down a pair of free throws with under one minute to play in the second half, giving the Bruins a 69-65 lead. Thompson answered with a 3-point play, cutting UCLA's cushion to 69-68.
Alatishe scored in the paint on the Beavers' next possession to give OSU a 70-69 lead. Bernard hit the second of two free throws to tie the score, 70-70, with just seconds left in regulation.
The NCAA men's basketball selection show will air on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. (PT) on CBS.