UCLA Hangs On to Beat Southern Cal, 60-58

The Bruins blew an 18-point lead during a nightmare second half but still got the win.

Jaylen Clark reacts after hitting the eventual game-winner over Southern Cal. (Photo credit: @UCLAMBB)

---

Well, that happened.

It was a tale of two halves for the UCLA Bruins on Thursday. In one half, the Bruins completely outplayed their opponent in every facet of the game. In the other, they could not figure out how to play offense while allowing their opponent to get points with alarming regularity. The end result was another rivalry game between the Bruins and the Southern Cal Trojans that came down to the wire, despite there being no real reason for that to have happened, and unlike in years past, UCLA was able to avoid a last-second heartbreak to beat the Trojans 60-58.

The second half is likely going to be where everyone focuses, so let’s very-quickly talk about the first half, which featured the Bruins dominating Southern Cal for most of the half. The Bruins came out with purpose and went after the Trojans with the same effort that propelled their dominant road trip to the East Coast last month, forcing turnovers, cleaning up the boards on both ends, and generally playing clean basketball. The noticeable wrinkle was that the Bruins took more shots from a distance than we’ve seen in recent weeks; UCLA shot a similar number against the Huskies last Sunday but their recent stretch of play has been highlighted by a small amount of outside shooting and much more attacking the interior. Clearly UCLA felt they could attack Southern Cal’s defense effectively from the outside, and the Trojans’ loss to Washington State last week was a great example of that. In the first half, that proved prophetic, as the Bruins went 7-15 from three-point range at the half.

But that was the first half. The second half was a much different story as the Bruins could not figure out how to attack the Southern Cal defense with any sort of consistency. Tyger Campbell went scoreless in the second half, Jaylen Clark only hit one shot (it was a big one, but still), and David Singleton missed all of his three-point attempts and only registered a single point after splitting a pair of free throws. The only Bruin that could get something to drop in the second half was Jaime Jaquez, and even he struggled to a poor 4-9 from the field in the half to go with an abysmal 1-4 from the free throw line.

The referees made their presence felt more in the second half, as there were more whistles both ways that affected things. For UCLA, it meant less of Adem Bona and Tyger Campbell, and it was Bona’s disappearance that affected things the most for the UCLA defense, as Southern Cal was really able to attack the paint with him on the bench. If there was anything positive to take from this game, it’s the play of Adem Bona, who has grown by leaps and bounds and was basically the difference in a victory and defeat solely for his defensive effort.

The final minutes of this game was a nail-biter, especially as UCLA continued to miss shot after shot, even failing to convert at the free-throw line. The Trojans actually took a two-point lead with 32 seconds left after Reese Dixon-Waters cemented himself as this game’s “Trojan who has a career game for no reason” by hitting a jumper. The Bruins came down the court and Jaylen Clark launched a three-pointer that hit the iron, but David Singleton grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it right back to Clark, who would hit his second attempt to give the Bruins the lead. He then drew an offensive foul on the Trojans immediately after, giving the Bruins a chance to extend the lead. David Singleton would split his free throws (which is just a tradition for UCLA at this point if they’re trying to put away the Trojans late) but Trojan guard Boogie Ellis made the mistake of going for the tie rather than the win, as his pull-up attempt fell short over the arms of Bona.

There’s going to be a lot to take from this game for coach Mick Cronin and staff. For one, UCLA is really in a bit of an offensive slump to start Pac-12 play, with things getting bogged down way too often for a team known for their offensive efficiency. It would probably help if guys could hit their attempts closer to the basket, but in general, shots are starting to feel forced in a way they weren’t earlier in the season. Defensively, the Bruins are going to need to figure out how to stabilize things when Bona is out, which in my opinion would mean playing more of Mac Etienne and less of Kenneth Nwuba in these situations.

That said, I’m also not surprised this game ended up as close as it did. For all his flaws as a coach, Andy Enfield always has his team ready to play for this game, and the Trojans have often thrived in an underdog role in this game. The second half felt like a combination of the Bruins getting complacent thanks to their large lead and the Trojans ratcheting up the intensity. Something for the team to consider going forward.

Still, a win is a win, and as I’m writing this I’m currently watching Arizona struggle with Washington at home. It’s basketball, anything is possible. You just have to fix what you can and move forward.

Jaylen Clark led the Bruins with 15 points. Adem Bona led the team with 10 rebounds, while Tyger Campbell led the team with five assists. Reese Dixon-Waters led the Trojans with 16 points.

Three Takeaways

1. Player of the Game: Adem Bona - The reason UCLA won this game and Southern Cal did not is because the Bruins had Adem Bona. That’s it, full stop. The Trojans just never had an answer for attacking UCLA when he was on defense. I don’t think UCLA will ever make him the focus on offense, which is fine, but even on that end, he’s looking more confident. In a game where so many Bruins played poorly, you have to like that the freshman is continuing to step up.

2. The Offensive Flow is Gone - This was a miserable game from an offensive standpoint for the Bruins, and not even a game where I can say “yeah the Trojans just played great defense, what can you do?” UCLA was simply uninterested in playing actual offensive basketball in the second half, spending most of their possessions aimlessly dribbling on the outside before throwing up a poor shot. There was little off-ball movement and a lot of hesitancy in attacking the interior of the Trojan defense. Not good, and something that really needs to improve with Utah coming to town.

3. Burn This Game Film, Bury the Ashes - Let’s never speak of this again.

The Bruins have a big game next Thursday when they host the Utah Utes in a battle for first place in the conference. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM PT.

Go Bruins!

---

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.