Lonzo Ball caps UCLA's rally over Oregon with 3-pointer from another county

By Zack Pierce
Published

No. 10 UCLA on Thursday salvaged any hope of a Pac-12 regular-season title and got a bit of revenge against No. 5 Oregon, storming back from 19 down in the first half to win 82-79.




UCLA trailed 37-18 late in the first half before trimming the lead to nine at the break. Oregon, though, still led by 13 with 12 minutes to go before the Bruins ripped off a 21-3 run to take a five-point lead with 2:30 to go.

The Ducks cut the lead to 75-72 on a Payton Pritchard layup, when Bruins' super freshman Lonzo Ball decided to take matters into his own hands. Ball, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds, made the two biggest baskets of the game back-to-back. First, it was a driving layup between multiple Ducks defenders with 1:11 remaining to put UCLA back up by five. Pritchard responded with a 3-pointer for Oregon to cut the lead down to two. Then Ball had the guts to do this:

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/829917009534185472

A step-back 3-pointer from several feet behind the arc. Swish.

The shot essentially clinched the win for UCLA, a sweet retaliation after the Ducks won the first meeting between these teams on a Dillon Brooks 3-pointer at the buzzer in Eugene. Oregon had a couple looks at game-tying 3-pointers in the final minute in Thursday's game but couldn't connect.

The Bruins improved to 9-3 in the Pac-12 with the win, tied with Cal for third place. Oregon is in second at 10-2, trailing 11-1 Arizona. The Wildcats have a definite advantage the rest of the way, with all of their toughest remaining games (including UCLA) at home. But the regular-season race is just a prelude to the conference tournament and the Big Dance.

Get ready for March.