At the conclusion of Thursday night’s win over Oregon, UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland said he wanted an easy game in which his team could get a big lead and hold on to it.
It looked like he was going to get his wish Saturday against Oregon State in the first half until the turnover bug bit the Bruins as it has all season.
The Bruins closed the half leading the Beavers 29-24 after opening the game with a 19-point lead. Oregon State didn’t go away quietly, going on a 18-4 run to close the half, capitalizing on 14 Bruin turnovers. Oregon State’s freshman forward Devon Collier led the way for the Beavers with seven points.
The game has a similar feel to UCLA’s 62-57 win over Oregon State in Corvalis, Ore. nearly a month ago. The Bruins blew a 17-poin first half lead before closing out the game with crucial free throws from freshman center Joshua Smith.
Junior guard Malcolm Lee and sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt. Lee led the Bruins with nine points while Honeycutt had six.