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The last two times the Bruins went to Tempe, they went to overtime and played until the final buzzer.
Blue and Gold weren’t going to sweat it out this time against the Sun Devils and their raucous crowd.
For most of the second half, No. 5 UCLA Men’s Basketball (17-2, 8-0 Pac-12) needed every last possession to hold on to beat Arizona State (15-4, 6-2). it looked like it was necessary. Although they were first in the conference, they were able to escape with a 74-62 win by finishing the game with a 16-2 run. He didn’t lead by more than two possessions in the entire game for either team until 1:30 at the end.
Guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. finally came alive after a sluggish start, but was instrumental in helping the Bruins extend their winning streak to 14 games.
The last two 14-game winning streaks for the Bruins in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons saw them reach the Final Four at the end of the year.
Veteran guards Tiger Campbell and David Singleton led all players with 22 and 21 points respectively, shooting 14 of 21 combined from the field. Those scoring performances helped Jáquez, guard Jaylen Clarke and center Adem Bona together make up just four points in the first half, and a late-game appearance by their teammates could help UCLA to victory. On their own, they brought things closer together.
It was the defense that ultimately helped pull the win, allowing just two points on 8-for-1 shooting in the final 6:13.
The defense was also solid in the first few minutes, but a slow start on the other side prevented the Bruins from gaining an advantage.
UCLA recorded five turnovers in the first six minutes and blocked three shots during that time. The sloppy play wasn’t unique to the Bruins, as he kicked the ball away four times in the Sun Devils’ first four minutes.
Both teams scored 3 or more points for seven consecutive minutes, but it ended when Clarke hit several free throws and Singleton knocked down a midrange jumper. , the lone field goal from either team came in a back alley in Arizona when the umpire missed the offensive goaltender’s call.
Officials still had plenty of use of the whistle, with multiple offensive fouls on both teams contributing to their fifth consecutive turnover.
After guard Austin Nunez hit another triple for Arizona State, UCLA responded with one from point guard Dylan Andrews. The freshman scored the steal just seconds later, running down the court and scoring a slam dunk to put the Bruins up two.
However, Andrews came down on top of a contested defender in the second half and said something to the Sun Devil on his way back to the court. .
Arizona State led by two on second-chance layups after dropping both technical free throws. Campbell swept it out with a turnaround jumper, and after Bona started a fast break with a blocked 3-pointer, it looked like UCLA would lead again.
However, Bona turned the ball over and was called for a blocking foul, leading to a Sun Devils go-ahead free throw. The freshman big man flipped the ball five times and committed two fouls while failing to score a point in the half.
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Singleton led UCLA with a desperate 3-pointer that banked in at the end of the shot clock, and the veteran leader laughed down the court.
Arizona State took the lead, largely thanks to nine free throws in four minutes, but with 28 seconds remaining, guard DJ Horn scored a contested step-back triple and the buzzer sent guard Desmond Cambridge into the lead. Jr. took the lead with a heave at half court. Biggest lead of the night.
The Bruins were down 35-30 at halftime, shooting just 37.5%, but were already above their season average with 10 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils were shooting from his 6-for-12 depth and holding off Jaquez.
Jaquez Jr. played just eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, as he and Clarke shot 1-8 from the field.
Campbell and Singleton sparked an 8–0 run out of the locker room while Jacquez continued to struggle. Two fasts missed his layup after his break and then missed his throws in a row with the distraction curtain facing down.
The home crowd really blew up when Cambridge landed a midrange jumper out of bounds, and they took it to another level when he broke out with a 360-degree dunk. Even when Singleton appeared to end his 10-2 Suns run of his Devils with his 3-pointer, Cambridge quickly sank his one of their own.
Still, the Bruins didn’t go down without a fight as Clark converted with an and-1 and Singleton went 2-2 from the line. When the Sun Devils answered with a dunk and his 3-pointer, Campbell knocked down another mid-range his jumper and drew his call on the flop leading to Singleton’s technical his free throw.
Singleton eventually tied the score at 57–57, entering the corner tray at 7:50 and Bona hit one free throw to lead the team.
The back-and-forth action continued until Collins’ step-back 3-pointer bounced off the front rim twice and finally went down. stripes. UCLA took the lead again when the Arizona State goaltender scored a Jacquez layup with a goaltender, and Jacquez’s football against the ensuing possession. It led to a singleton layup.
Campbell continued to pour in points with a step-back jumper at the end of the shot clock, which put the Bruins up by five within four minutes. The crowd was ready for the team to come back when big man Warren Washington hit back an alley-oop, but they fell silent when Jokes stopped and quickly scored a triple.
With 90 seconds remaining, Jaquez sank a turnaround jumper to put UCLA up eight points. Bona then spun and made a layup to give the Bruins a double-digit lead for the first time overnight.
The Sun Devils had little chance to stave off the inevitable as 18 turnovers tied up leading to 24 UCLA points. The Bruins, on the other hand, did not commit a turnover with him 8:51 at the end of the action.
UCLA shot 60.7% from the field in the second half, making 14 of their final 19 attempts. Arizona State, on the other hand, shot 44.0% of his.
UCLA will try to complete its road sweep on Saturday when it travels to Tucson to face No. 11 Arizona. The Bruins-Wildcats game starts at 11am and will be televised on ABC.
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