LAS VEGAS — Freshman Jordan Adams saved the day for UCLA against Arizona on Friday night. Without him, the Bruins would have been in deep trouble.

However, they face that reality now.

Adams scored 18 points in the second half to lift his team from the jaws of defeat to the throes of victory in the semifinal round against the Wildcats. But in the final moments of the close win, he broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, ending his season.

Part of an offensive juggernaut freshman duo with Shabazz Muhammad, Adams was the Bruins second-leading scorer, averaging over 15 points per game. With him out of the lineup for the Bruins, Muhammad, who already takes the most shots on his team, will likely look to pick up the slack. He already tallies just short of 18 per game.

An injury to a star like Adams doesn’t make anyone happy, but it does bode well for the chances of Oregon to win the Pac-12 Tournament when both teams collide in the final game of the bracket.

Oregon played its semifinal game directly after UCLA’s win over Arizona, taking the floor just minutes after Bruin players headed to the locker room. While news of Adam’s injury spread amongst the press corps and fans, Ducks’ head coach Dana Altman and his team were in the dark.

Oregon wasn’t notified of the blow for UCLA until a reporter asked Altman during the postgame interview what impact Adams’ absence would have in the championship game.

The head coach and his team were obviously caught off-guard by the unfortunate but potentially fortuitous game-changer.

The Bruins are now down to only seven scholarship players on the team for the game against the Ducks as well as the NCAA Tournament. Norman Powell will likely step into the starting lineup in place of Adams, but he averages only six points per game.