UCLA men’s basketball leads Oregon 40-37 in busy first half

UCLA and Oregon have been busy, but Pauley Pavilion’s scoreboard operators have been even busier.

The Bruins went into halftime up 40-37 on the Ducks in a showdown between two teams still undefeated in conference play. Both boast high-tempo offenses, and didn’t stop running throughout an exciting opening 20 minutes.

Freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad, who was benched for the start of the game after arriving late to a Friday practice, scored 10 first-half points. Fellow frosh Kyle Anderson is well on his way to a triple-double with 6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the first half. Oregon freshman guard Dominic Artis had 10 for the Ducks.

The half was full of dunks, none more emphatic than a slam from sophomore guard Norman Powell. As the pace of the game has gone, Oregon responded with a basket just 12 seconds later.

This game marks the first matchup between two conference teams ranked in the AP Top 25 since late in the 2008-2009 Pac-10 season.

Compiled by Ryan Menezes, Bruin Sports senior staff.

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