CORVALLIS, Ore. – Outside of freshmen guard Lonzo Ball and forward TJ Leaf, the rest of No. 2 UCLA may have left its game back in Eugene, Oregon.
After suffering their first loss of the season on a last-second thriller to the Ducks on Wednesday night, the Bruins were going to find out just how they will respond to adversity.
Against the 4-10 Oregon State, UCLA (13-1) came out flat and cold.
If it wasn’t for the freshmen tandem, the Bruins would have headed into halftime in serious trouble. Instead, buoyed by Ball’s eight points, five rebounds and three assists and Leaf’s 10 points, UCLA holds a 34-26 lead.
The Bruins shot just 40 percent from the field while the Beavers only managed 33 percent.
Senior guard Isaac Hamilton, who couldn’t buy a basket against Oregon shooting 1-of-6, continued his struggles – he has made none of his eight attempts from the field.
Not exactly the bounce back response this UCLA team was looking for. Right now, the Bruins would be lucky just escaping from the Beaver dam with a win.