Another Last-Second Shot Dooms UCLA Against Gonzaga, 79-76

The Bruins played one of their worst halves of the year at the worst time possible.

One last ride with these Bruins. (Photo credit: Jesus Ramirez/uclabruins.com)

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It’s the hope that kills you.

UCLA gave their fans hope in the first half, grabbing a 46-33 lead over Gonzaga at the half thanks to strong defense and excellent offense. Then they played one of their worst halves of the year, including going over 11 minutes without making a single field goal, to go down by 10 points with two minutes left. Hope returned during one last furious Bruin comeback, as UCLA hit multiple shots including an Amari Bailey three to give them the lead with 12 seconds remaining.

Of course, you saw the rest. Julian Strawther rose up and hit a three from the logo. Tyger Campbell was stripped coming down for a game-tying shot. Ball game. Season over. UCLA loses 79-76.

It’s the hope that kills you.

There’s an easy way to look at this game: UCLA was undermanned, missing Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona, and was doing their best to stay even with a Gonzaga squad at full strength. Jaime Jaquez had a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Tyger Campbell almost had a double-double himself with 14 points and nine assists. Amari Bailey continued a strong March showing with 19 points on 7-13 shooting. The Bruins had a sound defensive strategy as well: go one-on-one defensively with Drew Timme. Timme got his, scoring a game-high 36 points on 16-24 shooting, but the Bruins were largely able to keep the rest of Gonzaga in check because they weren’t helping down defensively, preventing Timme from hitting the kind of smart passes he’s known for.

But the way that UCLA lost is going to leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouths for a few days. UCLA ran out to a big lead, yes, but they spent most of the second half giving that lead away thanks to poor offense. One of the bad tendencies Mick Cronin has shown in these big games is his decision to ride with Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez offensively, often to their detriment. You could see this play out in the second half, as both players got tired and could not get much going offensively while other players were left to sit around. The loss of Clark in particular hurts here as it left Cronin almost no choice but to play Jaquez nearly the entire time, but when a team goes over 11 minutes without making a field goal as the Bruins did, then maybe you need to rethink your strategy a bit.

The substitution patterns also stand out as a head-scratcher. I and others have questioned the continued decision to play Will McClendon similar minutes to Dylan Andrews despite all evidence as to which player is better at this moment, and it hurt the Bruins multiple times in this game. McClendon twice ended up having to take a three-pointer late in the shot clock in the second half, and I don’t particularly care at the moment whether McClendon turns into a really good player for UCLA in a few years - if you have a player who is shooting 21.3% from the field all season, including 7.7% from three, you probably shouldn’t have him out there when you desperately need offense. It also doesn’t help that McClendon’s defense is just not there, while Andrews plays much better on that end.

UCLA was forced into playing Kenneth Nwuba and Mac Etienne as a platoon thanks to Bona’s absence, and they played generally clean basketball, but that became a problem in the second half as both guys seemed almost afraid of committing a foul. Both players had zero fouls at halftime, which meant they should have felt more comfortable playing Drew Timme more physically, and it never happened. Timme was still able to score at will in the second half, which really should not have been the case given the foul situation.

The biggest question that is going to linger is that UCLA lost six games this year, and in four of those his team blew second-half leads. UCLA’s bench wasn’t untalented, but Mick Cronin never truly developed them or learn to trust them, and instead always rode his starters big minutes. Against a high-level opponent, that strategy is just asking for trouble. Every UCLA starter played at least 31 minutes, and you could tell by how many of their shots started front-rimming in the second half. Of the bench pieces, only Dylan Andrews made it to double-digits, and he only got 10 minutes total. Just compare it to Gonzaga; three Bulldogs played over 36 minutes, but two of their bench pieces got over 20 minutes, which allowed the team to have fresher legs down the stretch. I can’t even say that having Clark and Bona would have fixed this issue, as Clark would have just played Singleton’s minutes, Singleton would have played more of Andrews’s minutes (with Andrews playing much less as a result) and Bona taking most of, if not all of Nwuba’s minutes. At some point, Mick Cronin is going to have to learn how to use his bench more effectively to save his starters for the stretch run. Jaquez and Campbell played a ridiculous amount of minutes during their UCLA career, but there’s a nagging thought in the back of my head that they really should not have been asked to had Cronin managed his bench better.

But those are questions for another time. Again, there is an easy way to look at this game: UCLA was out-manned and still forced Gonzaga to hit another desperation three to beat them. Maybe one day UCLA will get to enter this game on even footing with the Bulldogs, but today is not that day.

This will go down as one of the bigger “What If?” seasons in UCLA history. The Bruins were one of the best teams in the country heading into the final week of the regular season, and then freak injuries in the season finale and conference tournament robbed them of the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. That the Bruins were even in a position to still make a run should be commended, but the question of “What If?” is going to linger long into the future. That’s the tragedy of this loss and the true tragedy of this season.

One last time, it is the hope that kills you.

Jaime Jaquez led the team with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Tyger Campbell led the team with nine assists. Drew Timme led the Bulldogs with 36 points.

Three Takeaways

1. Player(s) of the Game: Jaime Jaquez, Tyger Campbell, David Singleton, Kenneth Nwuba - In what could be their final game in a UCLA uniform, the seniors did their best to make sure they kept dancing a little longer. Jaquez led the team as he normally did, Campbell was unflappable for most of the game, Singleton hit a few key threes, and Nwuba did his best trying to contain the best low-post scorer in the game today. They deserved a better result than what they got, but we can’t help but thank them for all they’ve done for the Four Letters.

2. Where the Game Was Lost: A Second-Half Slump for the Ages - UCLA has had some bad second halves this year, but they picked a horrible time to have their worst one. UCLA went over 11 minutes without a made field goal in the second half, allowing Gonzaga to erase a 13-point halftime deficit and take a 10-point lead late. UCLA’s offensive strategy in the second half was bad, and something that the coaching staff really needs to rethink going into next season, as it cost them too many winnable games this year.

3. The Biggest Question: What If? - UCLA was without Jaylen Clark due to an Achilles injury suffered in the last game of the regular season. They were without Adem Bona, who reaggravated a shoulder injury he suffered during the Pac-12 Tournament during UCLA’s second-round matchup with Northwestern. That the Brins continued to fight to the very end is why we are proud of them, but the question of “What If?” is going to linger for a long time.

We’ll have some coverage to wrap up this season in the closing weeks, and talk to you all about what the next few months look like. As always:

Go Bruins.

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