UCLA
19-11, 12-5
Arizona
19-10, 9-7
UCLA Closes Strong to Beat Arizona, 69-64
February 29, 2020 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA men's basketball team took its first lead of the second half with 49 seconds remaining in the game and defeated Arizona, 69-64, Friday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
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Junior Chris Smith scored 17 points to lead the Bruins (19-11, 12-5 in Pac-12 play), who won their seventh game in a row. Redshirt sophomore Cody Riley and freshman Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 11 points apiece off the bench. Jaquez Jr. also collected team highs of seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
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Redshirt freshman Tyger Campbell dished out a game-high eight assists without a turnover.
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"We were finally able to get some consecutive stops to where we could actually get the lead," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Guys did a good job with their late-game defense. We had fouls to give, so we were trying to be aggressive. We forced some key turnovers late in the game."
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Nico Mannion registered a game-high 19 points and six assists for the Wildcats (19-10, 9-7). Zeke Nnaji added 16 points, while Dylan Smith pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
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UCLA missed its first seven shots from the field and saw Arizona push its lead to as many as nine points in the first half. The Bruins got to the free-throw line early and often during the game's first 20 minutes, converting 13 of 18 attempts to keep them in striking distance.
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A pair of made free throws by redshirt sophomore Jalen Hill started a 10-0 UCLA run that gave the Bruins a 27-24 lead with 2:23 remaining in the half. The Wildcats closed on a 9-0 run and went into the halftime break with a 33-27 lead.
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UCLA reduced its deficit to one point on four occasions in the second half, but Arizona had an answer in each instance until the two-minute mark.
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Following a Chris Smith jump-shot that pulled the Bruins even, 62-62, Campbell converted an off-balance runner in traffic to put them ahead with 49 seconds left in the second half. Campbell missed his previous 10 shot attempts before the go-ahead basket. UCLA went on to score 10 unanswered points and closed the game on an 11-2 scoring run.
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The Bruins made 29 of their 38 free-throw attempts in the game.
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Redshirt seniors Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski, appearing in their final regular-season games at Pauley Pavilion, started for UCLA. They were honored alongside senior Armani Dodson and redshirt junior Isaac Wulff in a pregame ceremony.
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The Bruins will conclude their regular season at USC on Saturday, March 7. UCLA's game will be nationally televised on CBS at 12:15 p.m. (PT).
