No. 5 UCLA finds a way to hold off Arizona State, extends win streak to 14
Just keep finding a way.
That was the mandate for UCLA on Thursday night, the fifth-ranked Bruins teetering late in their Pac-12 Conference showdown with Arizona State while endangering the nation’s longest winning streak among major conference teams.
Extending the streak would sustain the midseason fun while also preventing the Sun Devils from moving into a tie atop the conference standings. It would also put UCLA halfway to a desert sweep that ESPN’s Joe Lunardi said could vault the team to a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Everything remained in play after the Bruins’ latest escape, a 74-62 victory at Desert Financial Arena that came courtesy of more late gutsy play.
Smothered for most of a night in which he bricked two layups and back-to-back free throws, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. buried a three-pointer late in the shot clock to give his team a six-point lead with about 2½ minutes left. He added a turnaround jumper to extend the advantage as part of a game-ending 16-2 run.
“I knew my shot was going to fall when it needed to fall,” said Jaquez, who could smile after making only four of 12 shots for nine points. “I’m not really worried about that.”
Adem Bona didn’t start playing basketball until he was 13. The big man from Nigeria has become an important of a UCLA team that has won 13 games in a row.
The Bruins (17-2 overall, 8-0 Pac-12) needed the supplementary offense with Tyger Campbell and David Singleton carrying such a heavy load. Campbell led his team with 22 points and Singleton had 21 while making four of six three-pointers.
The top scorers also led the celebration of their team’s 14th consecutive victory, Campbell rapping his forehead with clenched fists and Singleton cupping his hand to an ear while looking at a record student section of 5,213 that had grown silent in the near-sellout crowd of 13,363.
“It’s been fun flying under the radar the last couple of months,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said while addressing only two reporters after a game that was called by remote FS1 broadcasters. “Because of what happened in [Las] Vegas, I think people gave up on us.”
Cronin was alluding to his team’s two losses, which came in a span of three days in late November. Illinois and Baylor prevailed over the Bruins largely because of success making three-pointers, a formula that Arizona State (15-4, 6-2) tried to duplicate.
The Sun Devils made nine of 22 shots from beyond the arc, including one from Frankie Collins that pushed them into a 60-58 lead before UCLA commenced its final surge. Arizona State’s late-game execution faltered against a defense that tightened considerably.
Sun Devils guard DJ Horne went scoreless in the second half after blistering the Bruins for 14 points by halftime.
“We’re one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Cronin said after Arizona State closed the game by making only one of its last eight shots, “and we’ve proven it over this winning streak.”
Somehow, shorthanded once again with Amari Bailey sitting out a sixth consecutive game because of discomfort in his left foot, the Bruins kept finding the energy to come back.
Trailing by as many as six points, the Bruins moved into a 58-57 lead with 6:34 left when freshman center Adem Bona made one of two free throws after a Singleton corner three-pointer had tied the score. Several of Singleton’s shots came off passes from Jaquez, who logged five assists while finding the open teammate.
“They tend to swarm and attack the dribbler,” Cronin said, “and the game plan was when they do that to find Dave.”
UCLA also wanted to squeeze more production out of a bench that had been held scoreless last weekend against Colorado. That mission was doubly important considering Arizona State’s rotation goes 10 deep.
Freshman guard Amari Bailey has missed five games in a row with a foot injury. UCLA coach Mick Cronin says he needs to practice before playing in a game.
Freshman guard Dylan Andrews provided a spark off the bench with five quick points in the first half — plus a technical foul for apparent taunting after he got tangled up in midair with Arizona State’s Devan Cambridge on a dunk and said something to his Sun Devils counterpart before heading back down the court.
Andrews finished with seven points, all coming with his team trailing.
“Dylan’s baskets tonight, huge,” Cronin said. “I’m talking about against a real team, in this environment, it gives you a lot of confidence for his future.”
A notable reinforcement could arrive before the end of the weekend. Cronin said Bailey looked good in the team’s shootaround Thursday and might be able to play against Arizona on Saturday depending on how he felt Friday.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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