UCLA Overcomes 9-Point Deficit in 51 Seconds, Downs Ducks in OT

For 38 basketball minutes, everything was just going so swell for the homies down in Eugene.

Even though Oregon had lost Bol Bol for the season -- dude's going pro after he recovers from his foot injury -- and were down to only eight players, they had UCLA on the ropes.

But those last two minutes were not kind to the Ducks.

 

The Bruins had found a spark under interim coach Murry Bartow -- Gene's kid -- last week.

He led UCLA to a home sweep of the Bay Area schools in his debut after replacing Steve Alford, who's probably still wondering where his mojo went.

 

That road swing through Willamette Valley, though, has always been a tough ask, so it wasn't a surprise to see Oregon having their way with their Pac-12 co-favorite.

They'd amassed a 17-point lead with 6:53 left and, with only eight players available, saw it start to dwindle.

Picking it up with the game clock ticking inside three minutes ...

• watch the Bruins pop nine points in the final 51 seconds and,
• when Chris Smith bricked a free throw in the last micro-tick,
• claim the game in overtime, 87-84:

 

Oregon's post-game cleanup crew rarely hears Matt Court as silent as it was at the end.

There were other moments along the way, as this sanitized Pac-12 Network clip indicates:

 

Didn't want to hurt the Duckies' feelings by including their 51 seconds from hell.

As to UCLA, they'll head up the road a few miles and take their shot at a road sweep in Corvallis in Sun 13 Jan.

However that goes, it's clear the Bruins under Bartow have finally found their way.