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Another ranked opponent deals Ducks another tough loss as UCLA pulls away

The Ducks are used to seeing a ranking by their opponent's name at this point in the season.

The second conference game was a trip down to Los Angeles to play the No. 21 Bruins (now No. 19). Coming into the game, Oregon had already played against three ranked opponents and the team's injury-depleted roster had been a factor in each contest.

This game was no different.

Despite the long list of injuries, Oregon has continued to do well considering the circumstances. The short-handed Ducks hung in there against now-ranked No. 1 Houston. They also kept it close with then-No. 12 Michigan State.

But the theme of falling short against ranked opponents continued Sunday, as the Bruins took down the Ducks, 65-56, for Mick Cronin’s first win against Dana Altman.

It hasn’t been one hot hand keeping Oregon (4-5, 1-1 Pac-12) at least competitive through the injury obstacles, as many players have stepped up with much-needed expanded roles. It was Quincy Guerrier who took charge Sunday with a team-high 15 points, but the injury bug plagued him too after he twisted his ankle on an awkward shot attempt in the first half. Luckily for the Ducks, he was able to return and saved Altman from even more stress.

Guerrier’s 10 first-half points led all scorers with defensive intensity surging through both sides as Oregon took a 27-21 halftime lead, but Ducks turnovers helped UCLA stick around.

While UCLA (7-0, 2-0) shot just 30.3 percent from the field, settling for long jump shots that failed to connect, its defense on the other end and ability to outclass the Ducks on the boards was more than enough to survive the poor shooting skid. With both teams struggling to score consistently, it was anyone's game.

Both Tyger Campbell and impressive freshman Amari Bailey were held scoreless in the first half for UCLA, but the duo found better success on the other side of the court and sparked the Bruins’ comeback run with a combined 24 points after halftime.

Although they sparked the run, the entire UCLA roster stepped up when the game got down to the line. Four players ended with double-digit scoring and six players had at least four rebounds.

A 36-25 advantage in rebounds and a 15-9 edge in turnovers forced also benefitted the Bruins.

Their 16 offensive boards in particular were significant, as there was almost never a green jersey boxing out the closest Bruin.

N'Faly Dante dealt with early foul trouble and was unable to make an impact down low. Guerrier started to get cold and freshman big man Kel'el Ware too struggled to get going.

Oregon wasn’t giving up, though. With 4 minutes remaining, the Ducks only trailed by 3. Richardson pulled another not-so-rare 40-minute game and kept the offense rolling. His 13 points were second to Guerrier’s 15, but no other Duck was able to crack double-digit scoring.

Someone had to step up in crunch time, with UCLA showing no indications of letting up, but nobody took on that role, and instead a 3-minute scoring drought all but ended the Ducks' remaining hopes of stealing a road victory.

They now sit at 4-5 with a non-conference meeting against Nevada on Saturday next on the schedule.

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