CORVALLIS, Ore. — Two weeks removed from one of its worst first halves of the season in Salt Lake City, it’s clear UCLA is not in Utah anymore.
Maybe the one constant carrying over from the Bruins’ sluggish start to the back end of their first road trip is the early effectiveness of Kyle Anderson, who shot 4-of-7 from the field for a team-high nine points as UCLA leads Oregon State 31-29 at the break.
Anderson’s shot appeared noticeably smoother from his forgettable six-point, nine-turnover performance against Oregon on Thursday. So did freshman guard Bryce Alford’s. After a dry spell spanning five Pac-12 games, Alford hit his first three-pointer since Jan. 12 with 9:41 to play. He hit another 65 seconds later to give UCLA a 23-16 lead.
A three-point jumper from 6-foot-10 OSU redshirt senior center Angus Brandt gave the Beavers a 16-14 lead before a layup from UCLA sophomore forward/center Tony Parker with 6:15 to play capped off a 13-0 run to give the Bruins a 27-16 advantage.
Beaver bigs Brandt and Eric Moreland began to work the post well against redshirt senior forward David Wear and Parker in the closing minutes of the half, cutting the Bruin lead to just two with 3:39 to play. Brandt has a team-high nine points at the break, while Moreland contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
It also helped OSU that UCLA went ice cold from the field to close the opening 20 minutes. The Bruins hit their final field goal of the half – a jumper from junior guard Norman Powell – with 3:22 to go, and shot just 36.7 percent on the half.
With 20 minutes left to play at Gill Coliseum, Alford has six points and David Wear has five. Parker, who fouled out of Thursday’s contest, has yet to commit a personal foul.
Compiled by Andrew Erickson, Bruin Sports senior staff.