UCLA
7-5
North Carolina
7-5
UCLA Downed by North Carolina, 74-64
December 21, 2019 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGASย โ Jules Bernard scored 16 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. had a double-double as the UCLA men's basketball team dropped a 74-64 decision to North Carolina on Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
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Jaquez finished with 14 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds, logging his second double-double of the season. Bernard and Jaquez were among four UCLA players to score in double figures.
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Playing in the CBS Sports Classic for the sixth consecutive year, the Bruins erased a 13-point halftime deficit early in the second half against North Carolina (7-5) by opening the half with a 12-0 scoring run. Trailing just 47-43 with 7:45 minutes to go, the Tar Heels used a 12-4 run over the next two minutes to pull ahead by 12 points.
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UCLA trailed North Carolina at the intermission by a 36-23 margin.
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"We've got to get better at executing some things, of being able to score from a screening and strategy standpoint," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Whatever we are trying to execute, we've got to make sure that we executive it. We just don't have enough, we don't have four first-round picks running around getting their own. And we've got to be a really good execution team. We have got to maximize our possessions."
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North Carolina's Armando Bacot had team highs in points (15) and rebounds (12). He was among five UNC players to score in double figures on Saturday. Anthony Harris finished with 14 points, while Brandon Robinson, Garrison Brooks and Jeremiah Francis each tallied 12 points.
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During the Bruins' 12-0 scoring run after halftime, UCLA had four players who scored points. The run was capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Jaquez Jr. and Smith, pulling UCLA to within one point (36-35) of the Tar Heels with 17:13 left in regulation.
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North Carolina was held scoreless in the second half until the 15:23 mark. The Tar Heels didn't make their first shot in the second half until the 14:09 mark.
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Despite the slow second-half start, the Tar Heels responded down the stretch to hold off UCLA. After a jump shot by Tyger Campbell reduced UNC's margin to 47-43 with 9:08 remaining, North Carolina reeled off second consecutive points to push the lead back into double digits.
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UCLA was unable to get the margin any closer in the rest of the second half.
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The game was closely contested in the first half until the final five minutes before the intermission. With the score knotted at 19-19, UNC used a 17-4 scoring run to head into the locker room ahead of UCLA, 36-23.
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Jaquez had a strong first half for the Bruins, having scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds before the break. The freshman from Camarillo, Calif., has scored at least 10 points in four of the Bruins' last six games.
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UCLA will return to action against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Dec. 28. Game time is 2 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The meeting against Cal State Fullerton will mark UCLA's final non-conference game before entering Pac-12 play after the New Year.
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