LAS VEGAS-- It nearly doesn't matter, does it?

No matter what takes place, no matter who gets hurt or whose shot isn't falling or whatever else may be occurring, as long as No. 10 and No. 24 and good friends are on the flooring, things will be fine for UCLA.

The Bruins lost another essential player with 16:14 left in the second half of Friday night's Pac-12 Tournament semifinal against Oregon, when Adem Bona, their 6-foot-10 freshman huge male, fell on his left shoulder with what might have been either a dislocation or a separation. The Bruins were leading 44-36 at the time, and moments later it was 44-41.

And After That Tyger Campbell, the aforementioned No. 10, began to channel Steph Curry, while Jaime Jaquez Jr., No. 24 in your game program, seemingly did whatever else. And not just was there no crisis, but the top-seeded Bruins retreated from fourth-seeded Oregon in the last 10 minutes for a resounding 75-56 victory and a berth in Saturday night's championship game.

Bona had set a tone in the opening minutes, blocking Rivaldo Soares' shot effort for the very first of his 2 blocks. He played 6-foot-11 Ducks center N'Faly Dante difficult, having a big hand in Dante's 3-for-11 shooting and eight points and, if not closing down the paint, at least making things challenging.

When he left, fitness instructor in tow and gingerly holding his left arm to protect his shoulder, others stepped up. That's become the Bruin Way. Redshirt senior Kenneth Nwuba, likewise 6-10, obstructed two shots himself in 8:13. David Singleton, 3 for 3 from the 3-point line for the night, tore down an exclamation point of a 3-pointer from the right wing during a 17-6 run. Dylan Andrews, Will McClendon and Abramo Canka supplied key minutes.

Campbell, after missing a 3-pointer shortly after Bona's exit, made five of his next 6 and 6 of 9 in the final 16 minutes, 2 for 4 from 3-point area and 4 of 5 mid-range jumpers, and added two helps to touch off a rise that had the UCLA fans in T-Mobile Arena roaring. The crowd fed off the rise, the group fed off the crowd's energy, and the Ducks were soon to be toast.

( They're) just people that kind of mastered the mid-range. When the team just provides me those shots, I just attempt to take 'em with confidence and attempt to knock 'em down."

Jaquez got four of his 10 rebounds in that span and a crucial and-one followed by a top-of-the-key 3-pointer at the end of that 17-6 run.

They in fact have to play a man down. In basketball, you get to put someone else in. You still get to play five-on-five.

" So individuals state, you do not have this person or that man. I imply, it would be different if you didn't have any person to put in. We got men on scholarship for a reason. They practice hard, we prepare 'em for a reason, we attempt to tell 'em their minute's going to come. We inform 'em all year, ‘‘ Your minute's going to come in March and we're going to need you.' People offered us huge minutes off the bench. And we just fret about defense. If we fret about defense, we stress over playing wise, the ball's ultimately going to go in."

Nearly as great as a reliable penalty kill, eh?

As we've kept in mind, Cronin got-- or a minimum of fine-tuned-- something else from hockey, the intentional ambiguity where injuries are concerned. A UCLA spokesman had actually notified the Pac-12 Network that Bona injured his left shoulder, but after going to the locker space Bona came back out and was on the bench, with no plaster or cover on the shoulder.

And when a questioner had the temerity to ask Cronin if there were an update, he responded: "Do you think I would tell you? No, I have no concept. He looks good in the locker space. But, no."

"upper-body injury" it is. Up until we hear otherwise, obviously, Bona's daily. The Bruins are also without Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Clark after his likewise vague "lower leg injury" last Saturday kept him out of this tournament and potentially the next one.

However the frame of mind that allows the Bruins to shrug off such difficulty is the same mindset that contributes to their capability to take control of a game down the stretch.

Four years, you get a lot of experience. We got a great point guard right here (Campbell) and he's our closer. We get him the ball, he brings it up the court, he takes care of it for us and gets us all in the best position and, gets our offense in the best position to make plays and defensively as well."

The Bruins, now 29-4, have their aspirations right in front of them Saturday night. A No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is still there for the taking, in addition to the chance to remain in the West and, if they take care of business, come right back to T-Mobile Arena for the Sweet 16 in two weeks.

" It would suggest that all this effort settled," Jaquez said.

jalexander@scng.com