#9 UCLA Bruins Use Strong First Half to Beat Washington, 70-61
The Bruins took their foot off the gas again in the second half, but the Huskies couldn't get close enough to make this much of a game.
Let’s start tonight’s postgame with the good news, shall we? UCLA won their 20th consecutive home game tonight by beating Washington, 70-61. The win ends the Bruins’ second two-game skid of the season.
They won tonight despite being outscored 39-32 in the second half because they built up a 16-point halftime lead and half of that lead came in the first three minutes and fifteen seconds of the game.
That’s when the Bruins opened the game with an 8-0 run on two shots by Jaylen Clark followed by two from Amari Bailey. While Washington was able to close that gap to six points on four different occasions, UCLA used a 12-0 run to push their lead to 18 points when Bailey tossed the ball to Adem Bona for a dunk with 7:14 left in the half.
The closest Washington would get in the remainder of the first half was 11 points down with 1:22 left as the Bruins just continued to answer every attempt the Huskies made to come back. In fact, UCLA finished the half with a 5-0 mini-run.
In the second half, it took the Huskies almost twelve minutes to get the Bruins’ lead down under ten points. Finally, with 8:14 left, PJ Fuller hit a three which cut UCLA’s lead to nine, 54-45.
Down the stretch, the Huskies kept whittling away and Bruin fans were left with a sense of déjà vu as they wondered if this game was going to get even closer like too many of UCLA’s other recent games.
With 2:13 to go, Washington had cut the lead again, this time to seven points, 64-57, on a pair of free throws from Jamal Bey. And, when Keion Brooks hit a three-pointer with 33 seconds left, it was down to a two-possession game and a six-point Bruin lead, 67-61.
But David Singleton, UCLA’s best free shooter, came through by making three of four shots from the charity stripe in those last 33 seconds to give the Bruins their 20th consecutive win at home.
Washington’s Keion Brooks led all scorers in this one with 23 points, while four of UCLA’s five starters ended the game in double figures. Jaime Jaquez, Jr. led the Bruins with 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Bailey tallied 13 points. Tyger Campbell added 11 while Adem Bona scored 10 points. Only Jaylen Clark who finished with nine points was the only starter not scoring in double figures. Singleton also had nine coming off the bench.
I’m not sure exactly what teams are putting into their halftime Gatorade to make them play so well in the second half against these Bruins, but if Mick Cronin can find a way to slip it into the Bruins’ halftime drinks, UCLA fans will be happy to avoid more close calls. They may be able to keep getting by building up a big lead at halftime which opposing teams are unable to overcome, but the Bruins need to find a way to stop teams from making a comeback in the second half.
To be sure, tonight’s game was a win but the Bruins shouldn’t accept in a win what would be unacceptable in a loss. Coming off two blown games in a row, UCLA still needs to work on doing a better job stopping opponents in the second half.
Go Bruins!!!
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I was at Pauley and 3 things stood out to me in a rather strange 2nd half. In the first half, UCLA was whistled for 3 or 4 fouls in the entire half. The 2nd half started with 3 fouls called in the 1st minute. The refs clearly decided to change the way they were calling the game. In the same first couple of minutes, UCLA's most experienced players committed careless turnovers. What may not have been visible to TV viewers was Mick Cronin exhorting the team to push the ball up the court. And, in trying to push the ball up the court, we failed at being quick without hurrying. I thought we rushed things and played out of control as evidenced by the sloppiness of play and carelessness with the ball. The defense became more passive as more and more fouls were called on the Bruins. At one point, I think the disparity was 14 or 15 to 3 in the 2nd half. In the final minutes, the Bruins slowed it down a bit and made an effort to feed Bona, particularly Bailey. I'm still not sure why we try and force bounce passes into Bona in traffic. It's not smart. Perhaps, Tyger Campbell is primarily a half court point guard. Jaquez may be primarily a half court performer. But, we do need movement in the half court without the ball. Perhaps we should find out what pace works best for us within our skill set. 18 turnovers isn't Bruin basketball under Mick Cronin.
As further follow up to this game, Cole Bajema was suspended by the PAC12 for his egregious foul against Adem Bona at the end of the first half. It is utterly ridiculous that this player wasn't immediately rejected on Thursday night.