Bradley Steps Up In The Clutch In Win Over UCLA
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A team as young as Arizona will feel the impact of its youth struggles more than others. On Friday night, it seemed like all four freshmen in the rotation were out of sync.
Forward Koa Peat, who has been terrific to start the season, scored just seven points and had six turnovers in 21 minutes of action.
Ivan Kharchenkov and Brayden Burries both combined for just nine points and 3-of-13 from the field. Burries did, however, contribute defensively with three steals.
On the road in Inglewood against UCLA, the Wildcats battled back and forth with the Bruins, ultimately coming out on top, 69-65, and improving to 4-0 on the season. Scoring troubles from their young impact bigs were highlighted against the No. 15 team in the country.
But with a string of young players, the group of veterans in the locker room only becomes more valuable.
On Friday, senior guard Jaden Bradley was one of the experienced players on the floor who commanded the offense and won the game down the stretch.
Bradley's Buckets
Bradley's M.O. throughout his collegiate career has been his defense, suffocating back courts and creating opportunities on the fast break. When Arizona reignited the flame with former Pac-12 rival UCLA, Bradley expanded his game to the offense to ice the game.
The former Alabama transfer scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. He added four rebounds, dished out three assists and had a pair of thefts from his place in the back court.
In the waning moments of the game, with the Wildcats trailing 61-60, Tommy Lloyd let his point guard go to work offensively. Bradley responded with a flurry of buckets that turned out to be the difference.
With just over two minutes to go, Bradley utilized the pick-and-roll with Motiejus Krivas at the top of the key and used his speed to get a tough layup and take the lead.
UCLA responded quickly with a jumper from Skyy Clark to retake the lead. Luckily for Arizona, Bradley had a couple more tricks left in the bag.
On the ensuing possession, Bradley dumped the ball underneath to Krivas, baiting his defender, forward Tyler Bilodeau, to double the big man. Bradley faded back to the arc, caught the escape pass from his center, and drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer from the wing.
Needing one more basket to put the game to bed for good, Bradley drove on Clark and sank a layup high off the glass, cementing the win.
“He’s Mr. Reliable,” Lloyd said after the game on the NBC broadcast. “He’s one of the best point guards in the country, hands down. We’re proud he’s ours.”
Arizona needed every bit of play from Bradley to escape Los Angeles with a win. Lloyd leaned on the veterans down the line, getting a team-high 20 points off the bench from Anthony Dell'Orso as well.
The Wildcats have some time to rest and hopefully reset for a stronger overall showing on Wednesday, when they head out east to take on No. 3 UConn.
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Logan Brown is an alumnus of the prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He currently works as a General College Sports Reporter On SI. Logan has an extensive background in writing and has contributed to Cronkite Sports, PHNX Sports, and Motion Graphics.
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