(AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez)
CORVALLIS – If there was a lack of focus on display in Oregon State's third consecutive loss Wednesday night, it came in the opening moments of the game's final 20 minutes.
The Beavers had allowed UCLA to shoot 58.1 percent in the first half, yet stayed within single digits. They had come back from a similar deficit only a month earlier against Tulsa at the Far West Classic, mustering the energy on the second night of a back-to-back to grind out a key non-conference win.
But at the start of Wednesday's second half at Gill Coliseum, senior forward Daniel Gomis fouled UCLA guard Isaac Hamilton on a right corner three-pointer – a costly lapse that resulted in a four-point play and suddenly a 12-point margin.