UCLA
15-5,11-3Pac-12
Arizona
14-8,8-8Pac-12
UCLA Takes Down Arizona, 74-60
February 18, 2021 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a career-high 25 points to lead the UCLA men's basketball team past Arizona, 74-60, in a Pac-12 matchup in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Thursday night
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UCLA (15-5, 11-3 Pac-12) secured its fifth straight win over Arizona (14-8, 8-8), the Bruins' longest winning streak over the Wildcats since winning eight games in a row from 2006 until 2009.
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Jaquez Jr., who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, made 10 of 12 shots from the field, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals.
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Coach Cronin Postgame | Jaquez Jr. & Campbell, Postgame
Tyger Campbell (13 points) and Cody Riley (10 points) were UCLA's other players to score in double figures. Campbell made 6 of 9 shots, including 1 of 2 attempts from 3-point range, and had a team-leading three assists.
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Arizona led at halftime, 31-30. The Bruins entered the locker room at the break having missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts. The second half was a different story, as UCLA outscored the visiting Wildcats by a 44-29 margin and made 4 of 5 attempts from long range.
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"I think the key was the start of the second half [and] our defensive intensity," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach "We'd talked about taking them out of their comfort zone because they're really well-coached. When they execute, they can pick you apart like they did in probably the first seven, eight possessions of the game. We let them run their stuff."
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The Bruins shot 53.3 percent from the field and recorded nine steals.
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UCLA shot 73.1 percent in the second half, knocking down 19 of 26 shots and 4 of 5, from 3-point range.
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Arizona led the Bruins, 37-34, with 17:27 to play in the second half after James Akinjo sank a pair of free throws. From that point, UCLA used a 15-2 scoring run over the game's next five minutes to lead, 49-39. A jump shot in the lane by Campbell with 12:04 to play pushed the Bruins ahead by 10 points.
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UCLA extended its advantage to 11 points (53-42) with 9:03 to play on a jump shot by Jules Bernard.
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From that point in the second half, Arizona never got any closer than five points. Azuolas Tubelis drew a foul and made one of two free throws with 6:30 remaining to trim UCLA's margin to 55-50.
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Campbell answered for the Bruins with a 3-pointer at the 5:54 mark.
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Leading Arizona, 64-54, with just under 3:25 to play in the contest, Jaquez drilled a 3-point basket to send UCLA ahead, 67-54.
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UCLA swept the regular-season series against Arizona. The Bruins had won the first meeting in Tucson, Ariz., by an 81-76 margin on Saturday, Jan. 9.
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The Bruins will return to action against Arizona State this Saturday evening in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 6 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
