The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans both had similar, and disappointing weekends in the state of Oregon. Both suffered hard fought close losses on Thursday night, then had exasperating losses on Saturday, both infuriating in their own right. Here is a brief review of the weekend for the local hoops squads.
Thursday - Oregon State 87, UCLA 84: There wasn't much defense to be found in Corvallis as both teams shot over 57% from the field. Pac-12 leading scorer Jared Cunningham scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half as the Beavers turned a tie game with about 10 minutes left into an Oregon State triumph.
Thursday - Oregon 65, USC 62: The Trojans officially announced they would be without forward Aaron Fuller for the rest of the season, and nearly pulled off a road upset, pulling to within a point in the final seconds. But USC fell short, which has happened all too often this season.
Saturday - Oregon 75, UCLA 68: Losing by seven to Oregon isn't all that bad, especially now that the Ducks are tied atop the conference at 6-2. But considering the Bruins led by 13 at halftime, getting blitzed by 20 points in the second half is one of the more frustrating losses of the season for UCLA.
Saturday - Oregon State 78, USC 59: The Trojans are down to seven scholarship players on the active roster, and it showed on Saturday in Corvallis. It was the eighth straight loss for USC, which fell to a dreadful 0-7 in the Pac-12.
For more local college hoops news, be sure to read both Bruins Nation and Conquest Chronicles.