Field Level Media
Jan 16, 2021
Jules Bernard had 20 points with nine rebounds and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 15 points as UCLA remained undefeated in Pac-12 Conference play with an 81-76 victory over visiting Washington on Saturday.
Winless in Pac-12 play, Washington gave its best shot with a hot start before UCLA unleashed its offense to score 52 second-half points. Cody Riley had 14 points for the Bruins (11-2, 7-0), while Tyger Campbell had 11 points and five assists.
UCLA has won its first seven games in conference play for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign, one season before the program's last national championship. It was also the Bruins' 14th victory in their last 15 Pac-12 games going back to last season.
Quade Green scored 25 points and Hameir Wright added a career best 15 for Washington (1-11, 0-7), which lost its eighth consecutive game.
Trailing by as many as 12 in the first half and 10 at halftime, UCLA opened the second half on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 39 on a layup by Riley. The Bruins finally took their first lead of the second half at 46-45 with 13:53 remaining on a 3-pointer by Bernard.
Washington stayed competitive, leading 70-69 with less than four minutes remaining before UCLA took the lead for good at 71-70 on another layup by Riley. UCLA pushed the advantage to 77-70 on a driving dunk by Jaquez.
The Huskies come out aggressive early, while the Bruins struggled, going just 2 of 11 form the field over the opening seven minutes. Washington led 15-6 in the early going before UCLA rallied back for a 22-20 lead with 7:44 remaining before halftime.
But Washington forced the action again, leading by as much as 12 points late in the first half before taking a 39-29 advantage into the break. Washington shot 53.3 percent (16 of 30) from the field in the first half, while UCLA was at 31.3 percent (10 of 32).
Green had 12 points, while Erik Stevenson had 11 points for Washington before the half. Stevenson did not score in the second half and missed a 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining that would have tied the game for the Huskies.
--Field Level Media