Field Level Media
Feb 18, 2021
UCLA sophomore Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a career-high 25 points, Tyger Campbell added 13 and the Bruins rode a hot second half to a 74-60 victory over Arizona on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
UCLA (15-5, 11-3 Pac-12) won its fifth consecutive meeting with the Wildcats (14-8, 8-8) and moved a game behind conference-leading Southern California.
The Bruins shot 73.1 percent (19 of 26) from the floor in the second half. Jaquez made 10 of 12 shots in the game, often working for layups or jumpers in the paint. His only misses came from 3-point range.
James Akinjo scored 21 points to lead Arizona, and Azuolas Tubelis had 18 points and a game-high eight rebounds. No other player was in double figure points for the Wildcats, who have lost five of their past seven games.
UCLA trailed 31-30 at halftime but surged offensively after the break, hitting nine of its first 10 shots. That accuracy propelled the Bruins to a 15-2 run, capped by two jumpers from Campbell, for a 49-39 lead with 12:04 to go.
The Bruins pushed their advantage to 53-42, although the Wildcats tried to rally. The visitors pulled within 55-50 at the 6:30 mark and were still within reach at 58-52 with 5:46 to go.
Jacquez took over from there, scoring nine consecutive UCLA points to knock out Arizona. When Johnny Juzang chipped in with a 3-pointer with 1:56 left, UCLA led 70-56.
Arizona jumped on top 12-4 early. The Wildcats never trailed until Jaquez hit a jumper with 2:12 to go before halftime, capping an 8-0 run that produced a 28-27 UCLA lead.
The Wildcats poked ahead 31-30 at halftime, surviving a late 3-point attempt from Juzang as the Bruins missed all 10 of their shots from behind the arc in the half. UCLA turned that around with an efficient 4-of-5 effort from long distance in the second half.
UCLA has won 17 consecutive home games -- including 14 in conference play -- since January 2020.
--Field Level Media