LAS VEGAS — It all had a painfully familiar feel for UCLA.
A big lead. Some sloppy play. A lead that was no more.
Then came an ending that was singularly excruciating.
The regrets belonged exclusively to UCLA’s Jules Bernard in the final minute of overtime of a Pac-12 Conference tournament quarterfinal against Oregon State. With the Bruins down by a point, Bernard drove into the lane and appeared to get fouled while also having his shot blocked with 41 seconds left, giving the ball back to the Beavers. Bernard grabbed a rebound after Oregon State missed a shot on its resulting possession and went barreling into the lane before throwing a pass toward the wing that was grabbed by the Beavers’ Jared Lucas.
UCLA had to foul Lucas with four seconds left and he made both free throws to extend Oregon State’s advantage to three points. Bernard stood doubled over in anguish at his blunder that sealed the fourth-seeded Bruins’ 83-79 loss to the fifth-seeded Beavers at T-Mobile Arena.
UCLA (17-9) will head into the NCAA Tournament — assuming it’s selected on Sunday — having blown four consecutive large leads, having done so against Colorado, Oregon and USC before doing the same against the Beavers (15-12).
Oregon State will play top-seeded Oregon in a semifinal Friday.
UCLA looked to be on its way to victory when Tyger Campbell made two free throws to give the Bruins a 69-65 lead with 50 seconds left in regulation. But Oregon State’s Ethan Thompson made a spinning layup while getting fouled by Jaylen Clark, sinking the free throw to make it 69-68.
Campbell then tried to force a pass in the paint that was stolen and Warith Alatishe’s one-handed jumper in the paint gave the Beavers a 70-69 lead with 11 seconds left.
After an Oregon State timeout, Campbell drove for a floater that bounced off the rim. Bernard was fouled going for the rebound with three seconds left, sending him to the free-throw line with the Bruins in the double bonus. Bernard’s first free throw bounced off the back and front of the rim before falling away. His second rattled around the rim and into the air before falling through the net to tie the score at 70-70.
Oregon State guard Gianni Hunt’s desperation shot just inside halfcourt at the regulation buzzer sailed over the backboard.
Bernard finished with 19 points and Johnny Juzang added 12 for the Bruins, who finished the game without Cody Riley or Jaime Jaquez Jr. after they fouled out in the final few minutes.
Alatishe led Oregon State with 22 points and Lucas added 17.
Oregon State wiped out what had been a 16-point deficit late in the first half and a 10-point halftime hole. The Beavers pulled into a 45-45 tie with 9:28 left on Lucas’ 3-pointer, forcing UCLA coach Mick Cronin to call a timeout as the few dozen Oregon State family members permitted to attend the game amid the COVID-19 pandemic roared.
Juzang, who missed the Bruins’ loss to USC last weekend with an injured right ankle, showed he was fully recovered in the game’s opening minutes when he collected seven quick points on a couple of driving layups and a 3-pointer.
Oregon State fought back from an early six-point deficit to pull into a 12-12 tie before the Bruins went on an 11-0 push sparked by a Bernard 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer.
Repeatedly forcing the Beavers into turnovers and clanked shots, the Bruins extended their advantage to 32-16 and had the ball after Campbell took a charge. UCLA’s bench and its cheering section comprising family members stood and cheered, the Bruins seemingly on their way to a runaway victory.
There was mostly silence the rest of the first half. Four Bruins turnovers in the final 4:42 before halftime helped Oregon State pull to within 34-24 at the game’s midpoint despite shooting 29.6% to UCLA’s 48.3% and committing three more turnovers than the Bruins.
Stuck in a season-long slump, reserve guard Jake Kyman provided a welcome sight for the Bruins with some quality minutes in the first half. He made a 3-pointer and followed it with a steal and a layup, scoring five points in 22 seconds shortly after entering the game.
