UCLA
13-11,8-5Pac-12
California
10-14,6-7Pac-12
UCLA Wins 61-60 Thriller at California
February 10, 2024 | Men's Basketball
BERKELEY, Calif. – In a game that featured six lead changes in its final minutes, the UCLA men's basketball team overcame California, 61-60, in a Pac-12 contest on Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.
The Bruins (13-11, 8-5 Pac-12) extended their winning streak to five games, including three of those contests being away from home. They have won seven of eight contests since Sunday, Jan. 14.
Saturday's back-and-forth finish in Berkeley came down to the final minute, as California had erased UCLA's 14-point second-half cushion. Dylan Andrews nailed a mid-range jump shot with 24 seconds to play, putting the Bruins ahead 58-57. The Golden Bears missed a shot with 17 seconds left and UCLA's Lazar Stefanovic, who finished with a double-double, knocked down a pair of free throws.
Leading 60-57, UCLA's Sebastian Mack corralled a defensive rebound and drew a foul with four seconds remaining. Mack made one of two attempts at the line to put the Bruins ahead, 61-57. California's Jalen Celestine knocked down a 3-pointer with less than one second to play.
"That basket starts shrinking on you on the road, and here comes the other team, and we knew they were going to make a run," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "We talked about it at halftime. But you just see, we become a different team. Berke big three, Lazar big three, Adem and-one, and then Dylan Andrews steps up. We just have to keep defending, and eventually that ball will go in the basket for you."
Adem Bona scored a team-leading 13 points for the Bruins. Andrews and Stefanovic each added 12 points. Stefanovic pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds to lead all players, tallying his second double-double of the season (and of his collegiate career).
California's Jaylon Tyson led the Golden Bears (10-14, 6-7 Pac-12) with 16 points. Celestine finished with 13 points, making 4 of 9 tries from 3-point distance. Fardaws Aimaq totaled 12 points and 12 rebounds.
UCLA led throughout the contest on Saturday, securing a 35-24 cushion at halftime. Early in the first half, the Bruins trailed California by a 7-4 margin with 16:04 remaining. Andrews knocked down a mid-range jump shot to kickstart a UCLA scoring run. The Bruins scored 11 straight points and 15 of the game's next 18, with Andrews contributing eight of those points. He scored 10 points in the first half.
UCLA's first-half lead swelled to 29-16 when Stefanovic nailed a 3-pointer at the 6:04 mark. California never got any closer than 10 points the rest of the first half.
The Bruins' second-half lead twice reached 14 points. California used a 9-1 scoring run to trim its deficit to 41-35 with 13:21 remaining. A 3-pointer by UCLA's Berke Buyuktuncel at the 8:41 mark made the score 50-41, in UCLA's favor, but the Golden Bears again answered. California scored the game's next 10 points, taking its first lead since the opening minutes.
Stefanovic's 3-pointer snapped a UCLA scoring drought that lasted just over six minutes. California responded, as Aimaq scoring the next four points to put the Golden Bears ahead of UCLA, 55-53. Bona followed with an old-fashioned three-point play, to which Aimaq answered once more.
Trailing 57-56, Andrews came up big for the Bruins with his jump shot at the 24-second mark. Andrews' basket, his fourth made shot of the afternoon, put the Bruins on top by a 58-57 margin.
UCLA improved its road record to 5-4 with the win on Sunday. Including four netural-site contests, the Bruins have gone 6-7 in 13 games played away from home this season.
The Bruins return home this week and will take on Colorado this Thursday night. Game time in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom is set for 6 p.m. (PT). UCLA's matchup against Colorado will be nationally televised on ESPN.
In addition, UCLA will host Utah on Sunday, Feb. 18. Game time next Sunday in Pauley Pavilion is set for 4 p.m. (PT).
