Feb 28, 2003

Box Score

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Jason Kapono had 20 points and 13 rebounds as UCLA beat Oregon State 69-66 Thursday night.

Ray Young added 19 points and nine rebounds for UCLA (7-17, 4-11 Pac-10), which remains in the hunt for a berth in the conference tournament.

Oregon State (12-12, 5-10) missed a chance to clinch a spot in the Pac-10 tournament. The Beavers, fifth in the conference, face sixth-place Southern California on Saturday. The top eight teams advance to the tournament March 13-15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Philip Ricci led the Beavers with 15 points.

UCLA opened with a 10-3 lead, but committed 13 first-half turnovers as Oregon State made a quick comeback.

J.S. Nashs no-look pass to David Lucas on a fast break gave the Beavers a 30-25 advantage, but the Bruins pulled into a 30-30 halftime tie.

The game stayed tight early in the second half until Young hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give UCLA its biggest lead, 52-44.

The Beavers rallied again. Brian Jackson's 3-pointer with 1:07 left pulling them to within 64-63.

A Young put-back made it 66-63 with 45 seconds remaining.

Lamar Hurd then missed a key 3-pointer with at 17 seconds left and UCLA put the game away at the free throw line.

Jimmy Haywood hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer for Oregon State, which shot 36 percent for the game.