UCLA
29-5,18-2Pac-12
Arizona
28-6,14-6Pac-12
UCLA Falls to Arizona in Pac-12 Tournament Final, 61-59
March 11, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – The No. 1-seed UCLA men's basketball team lost to No. 2-seed Arizona, 61-59, in the championship game of the Pac-12 Tournament on Saturday evening before a crowd of 14,022 at T-Mobile Arena.
Arizona (28-6) overcame a 46-37 second-half deficit against the Bruins, outscoring UCLA by a 24-13 margin over the game's final 14 minutes to snap UCLA's 12-game winning streak.
The Wildcats took a 60-58 lead against UCLA (29-5) on a 3-pointer by Courtney Ramey with under 17 seconds to play. UCLA's Tyger Campbell drew a foul on the following possession, made the first of two free throws and missed the second.
Arizona's Azuolis Tubelis, who finished with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, drew a foul on the next sequence with 5.8 seconds to play and the Wildcats ahead, 60-59. He made the first free throw and missed the second before UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr. collected the rebound. Jaquez Jr. fired the ball down the court to Dylan Andrews, who missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer as the clock expired.
"We always play with toughness, but we had too many defensive mistakes and gave up too many offensive rebounds in the second half," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "That's how we do things – so it's not a surprise. We compete. It's five-on-five. We don't accept that somebody was out, so you are supposed to lose. We don't roll like that. I don't teach these guys that about life. They're going to have ups – I try to train my guys for life like my father taught me, so they're going to have things happens along the way."
UCLA's Postgame Press Conference: Video
Amari Bailey led UCLA with 19 points and Campbell finished with 16 points. Jaquez Jr. was UCLA's only other player to score in double figures on Saturday, totaling 13 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. Jaquez Jr. registered his team-leading ninth double-double of the season.
The two teams battled through a back-and-forth half in a rematch of last season's Pac-12 Tournament title game. UCLA and Arizona traded the lead 12 times before halftime. Arizona led UCLA by a 27-22 margin at the 5:11 mark after a 7-1 scoring run. Jaquez Jr. and the Bruins responded with a 9-2 run and regained the lead at 31-29 (with three minutes to play in the opening half).
UCLA led at halftime, 34-33, after Bailey scored on a layup with 40 seconds to play in the first half.
The Bruins extended their cushion to eight points after having started the second half with a 9-1 scoring run. A 3-point shot by Bailey at the 14:18 mark put UCLA on top of Arizona, 46-37. The Wildcats rallied back, taking a 50-48 lead after a 12-2 scoring run.
The Bruins responded with a 6-0 scoring run of their own, keyed by a pair of layups from Bailey. That helped to push UCLA ahead of Arizona, 54-40, with 7:35 to play. Foul trouble caught up to the Bruins in the game's final minutes. Kenneth Nwuba and Mac Etienne both fouled out within the last 10 minutes of regulation, and the Bruins were without freshman forward Adem Bona due to a sore left shoulder (sustained in Friday's game against Oregon).
UCLA absorbed its first loss since Thursday, Jan. 26, snapping a 12-game winning streak. The Bruins have logged winning streaks of 14 games and 12 games this season.
The Bruins will await their NCAA Tournament seeding on Sunday, as the national "Selection Show" is set to air on CBS at 3:00 p.m. (PT). UCLA anticipates earning its third consecutive NCAA Tournament selection, as the Bruins have gone 29-5 and won the Pac-12 regular-season title with an 18-2 conference record.
Bailey, Campbell and Jaquez Jr. were recognized following Saturday night's game as All-Pac-12 Tournament Team selections. Arizona's Tubelis was honored as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
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