UCLA
12-2,3-0Pac-12
Washington State
5-9,0-3Pac-12
UCLA Posts Comeback Win at Washington State, 67-66
December 30, 2022 | Men's Basketball
PULLMAN, Wash. – The No. 11-ranked UCLA men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point deficit on Friday night, securing a 67-66 win at Washington State in a Pac-12 game at Beasley Coliseum.
Freshman forward Adem Bona hit the go-ahead shot for the Bruins with a layup that was whistled for goaltending with fewer than 20 seconds remaining in the game. The Bruins' defense held tight in the final 19 seconds to preserve a one-point victory.
UCLA (12-2, 3-0 Pac-12) got a stop on the final possession from Washington State (5-9, 0-3). A 3-point attempt in the corner by WSU's DJ Rodman missed with under six seconds remaining.
The Bruins' game-winning possession was sparked by a defensive deflection from redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell, who got his hand on a pass in the middle and broke it up. UCLA redshirt freshman guard Will McClendon took the pass from Campbell and drove the floor before finding a sprinting Bona down low.
Bona's go-ahead shot, which had been whistled for goaltending, marked UCLA's first lead since the 18:08 mark of the first half.
The win helped UCLA improved to 12-2 overall, marking the third consecutive season in which the Bruins have won 12 of their first 14 games.
Senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished as UCLA's top scorer on Friday. He registered 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. In addition, Jaquez Jr. was excellent from the foul line, sinking all 10 of his attempts from the charity stripe. As a team, the Bruins made 21 of 23 free throw attempts.
Campbell had 16 points and fifth-year guard David Singleton totaled 14 points, joining Jaquez Jr. in double figures in the road victory.
The Bruins had to overcome a five-point halftime deficit to pull out the win, using runs at the start and end of the second half to go ahead.
UCLA closed the game on a 14-5 scoring run over the final seven-plus minutes of the game. After Washington State's Justin Powell hit a 3-pointer to make the score 62-53, in WSU's favor, UCLA limited Washington State without a field goal for the rest of the contest.
Trailing by five with just over four minutes to go, UCLA made its final charge as Campbell and Singleton both hit key jumpers from just inside the three-point line to bring the Bruins within one. Jaquez Jr. and Washington State's Mouhamed Gueye traded a pair of free-throw makes around the one-minute mark to keep it a one-point game and set up Bona's winner.
Jaquez Jr. scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half.
UCLA salvaged the first half – despite shooting just 27 percent from the field – with a strong performance at the line, making 13 of 14 free throws. Campbell brought the deficit to five after going the length of the court, utilizing a screen, and nailing a pull-up three on the final possession of the first half. He scored a team-best 10 points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Cougars were led by DJ Rodman's team-high 19 points and Gueye's 18-point, 18-rebound double-double.
UCLA continues its Pacific Northwest trip with a contest at Washington on Sunday at 4 p.m. (PT). The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network, with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton on the call.
Game Notes: UCLA landed its first win at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman since the 2018-19 season … the Bruins had lost their previous two games in Pullman (in Jan. 2020 and Feb. 2021) … UCLA recorded its first one-point victory since an 80-79 win against Arizona State in Los Angeles on Feb. 20, 2021 … the Bruins finished with a 21-10 advantage in points-off-turnovers … as a team, UCLA committed just six turnovers (the third time this season in which UCLA has committed six or fewer turnovers) … Jaime Jaquez Jr. (10-for-10, free throws) became UCLA's first player to have made at least 10 free throws in one game without missing since Jordan Adams went 10-for-10 in a 22-point win against Nevada (Nov. 28, 2013) … Jaquez Jr. became the first UCLA player to accomplish that feat in a Pac-12 game since Malcolm Lee on Feb. 20, 2011 (versus California, Lee was 10-for-10).
