UCLA
3-1
UNLV
3-1
UCLA Defeats UNLV in Maui, 77-75
November 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Welsh made 9 of 12 shots from the field and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds.
In a game that featured five lead changes, Isaac Hamilton helped UCLA (3-1) secure the lead for good with a 3-point field goal that gave the Bruins a 67-65 cushion with 3:23 to play.
After consecutive missed 3-pointers from UNLV (3-1), Aaron Holiday nailed a pair of free throws with 1:30 to play and another two free throws at the 0:57 mark, putting UCLA ahead of the Runnin' Rebels, 71-65.
Holiday finished with 18 points, making 4 of 8 shots from the field and all eight free throw attempts.
”I'm really proud of my basketball team,” UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. “I just felt they fought. This was a really good, big, athletic team that we were playing in UNLV, and I thought both teams came in playing pretty good basketball. I'm proud of my guys because we took a pretty good punch to start the game.”
The Bruins overcame an early 16-7 deficit, using a 14-4 scoring run over a 6:24 span to lead, 21-20. From there, UCLA pushed its first-half lead to as many as nine points and secured a 41-35 cushion.
In the second half, UNLV closed the gap with less than 10 minutes to play and secured a 62-58 lead on Patrick McCaw's 3-pointer with 8:29 to play.
Alford made two free throws with 7:43 remaining, shrinking UNLV's advantage to 62-60 before Tony Parker's tied the contest, 62-62, at the 7:12 mark.
The Runnin' Rebels took a 65-64 advantage with 6:02 to play, and neither team scored over the game's next 2:25. UCLA broke the scoreless span with Hamilton's 3-pointer at the 3:23 mark.
The Bruins will return to action against No. 5 Kansas on Tuesday in a semifinal matchup of the Maui Invitational. UCLA will play the final game of the day, with game time slated for 7 p.m. PT (5 p.m. HT). UCLA's game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
Game Notes: UCLA shot 45 percent from the field and nailed 23 of 24 free throws (95.8 percent) ... the Bruins improved their record against UNLV to 5-0 in the all-time series ... neither team had played each other since Dec. 1998 ... UCLA last faced Kansas in the 2011 Maui Invitational, with Kansas earning a 75-56 win (Nov. 22, 2011) ... Thomas Welsh netted at least 20 points for the second time in his career (he had a career-high 22 points on Nov. 15, 2015 against Cal Poly) ... Bryce Alford scored at least 20 points for the 12th time in his career ... UCLA secured the victory on head coach Steve Alford's birthday.
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