UCLA
23-4,14-2Pac-12
California
3-24,2-14Pac-12
No. 4 UCLA Defeats California, 78-43
February 18, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โย The No. 4 UCLA men's basketball team extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 23 on Saturday evening, downing California, 78-43, at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
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The win also marked the Bruins' 11th consecutive victory over the Golden Bears. UCLA (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12) limited California to just 43 points, the lowest single-game total by any Bruins' opponent this season. UCLA held Utah to 49 points in a home victory on Thursday, Jan. 12.
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The Bruins dominated Saturday's contest against California (3-24, 2-14 Pac-12) from the opening tip-off. UCLA jumped ahead, 12-0, in the first six minutes of action. California didn't get on the board until the 13:57 mark, following a short-range jump shot from Joel Brown. Prior to that basket, California was 0-for-7 from the field.
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Jaime Jaquez Jr. led all scorers in the first half on Saturday, totaling 13 of his team-leading 20 points before halftime. Jaquez Jr. also had a team-leading seven rebounds in the game's first 20 minutes. He finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal.
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California made just 11 of 50 shots (22 percent) on Saturday. That marked the fewest made field goals in one game by any of UCLA's opponents since the 1970-71 season. Last season, UCLA limited Stanford to just 13 made field goals in a game in Pauley Pavilion.
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"Obviously, our defense was as good as it could be early in the game, and then we held them to 11 field goals for the entire game," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Good effort by us. Tonight, the goal was to stay focused, make sure we're professional, and we have the correct attitude. We try to practice that hard around here. The results speak for themselves when you do that. It was good to get a lot of guys some minutes."
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UCLA took a 38-15 lead into the intermission. California's 15 points in the first half marked the fewest points in any half by the Bruins' opponent since Mick Cronin took over as UCLA's head coach prior to the 2019-20 season. Two weeks ago, UCLA had limited Oregon State to just 18 first-half points in a win in Corvallis, Ore.
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Saturday's second half featured much of the same. UCLA outscored the Golden Bears by a 40-28 margin, pushing its margin to as many as 37 points with 11:52 left in the contest. A fast-break lay-up by Jaquez Jr. put the Bruins ahead of the Golden Bears, 59-22.
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Jaquez Jr. finished Saturday's win having made 6 of 11 shots. He reached the 20-point plateau for the ninth time this season and was 6-for-7 at the free throw line.
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Bailey had 16 rebounds and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds. Jaylen Clark had 13 points and five rebounds.
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California's Kuany Kuany scored a team-leading 14 points, connecting on 2-of-5 shots from 3-point distance.
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With the win on Saturday, UCLA clinched a first-round bye in next month's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. The top four (of 12) teams in the Pac-12 Conference will earn a bye at the conference tournament, played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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UCLA will return to action at Utah on Thursday, Feb. 23. Game time is 8 p.m. PT (9 p.m. MT, in Salt Lake City). UCLA's game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center will be nationally televised on FS1.
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The Bruins will close their two-game road trip next Sunday at Colorado.
