Suffocating Defense Helps UCLA Men's Basketball Fend Off Utah
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In a battle for first place in the Pac-12, the Bruins asserted their dominance atop the rest of the conference.
No. 7 UCLA men's basketball (15-2, 6-0 Pac-12) extended its winning streak to 12 games after shutting down Utah (12-6, 5-2) in a 68-49 victory Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. The Utes' 49 points were tied for their fewest of the season, and it was also tied for the fewest the Bruins had given up all year.
The Utes played without their star senior, 7-foot center Branden Carlson, who was ruled out just minutes before the opening tip with a non-COVID-related illness. Without their leading scorer, rebounder and 3-pointer shooter, Utah was hardly able to get anything going.
UCLA held Utah to 36.7% shooting from the field, in addition to forcing 16 turnovers, helping them improve to 6-0 against the Utes under coach Mick Cronin.
The two-man game of point guard Tyger Campbell and center Adem Bona did most of the work on the offensive end, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively. Campbell also added seven assists, while Bona finished the night with eight rebounds.
The Bruins' defense forced five turnovers in the first five minutes, only allowing four points in that span, but they were unable to get things going themselves on the other end. UCLA started 0-for-4 from the field, missing multiple 3-pointers and contested shots around the rim.
That all changed once the Bruins started getting the ball to Bona in the post. The two-time reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week hit guard David Singleton up top for a slashing layup, and then he scored on back-to-back possessions with a second-chance layup and a hook shot in traffic.
Bona continued his dominance by finishing a powerful alley-oop slam from Campbell that got Pauley Pavilion rocking, right after the Utes missed two-straight free throws. From there, guard Jaylen Clark tracked down a steal and drained a straightaway 3-pointer in transition – from the same spot as his game-winner against USC on Jan. 5 – to make it an 11-0 UCLA run.
Utah started to find a little more success breaking the press after that stretch, scoring six unanswered of their own before both teams' offenses hit a wall.
Campbell ended the Utes' run with a floater, then came through with a big 3-pointer before finding Bona down low for a dunk. After Utah hit a 3-pointer to stay close, Campbell found Bona slashing through the paint on an inbounds pass for yet another slam.
Bona got an offensive rebound a few possessions later, and he kicked it out to Campbell for a triple. The next time the Bruins got the ball, guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. drew a double-team and found Campbell for another 3-pointer.
Jaquez dished out another assist on a 3-pointer by point guard Dylan Andrews in the corner, making it a 12-for-20 shooting stretch for UCLA after their slow start.
The Bruins went into halftime up 31-22, while the Utes had more turnovers – 10 – than made field goals – nine.
Utah came out of the half jacking up 3-pointers and missing them all. Jaquez hit a triple from the left wing for his fifth 3-pointer in three games – he went 0-for-10 across his previous eight appearances – and then he hit Clark for a fast break dunk to further bolster UCLA's lead.
Bona blocked a shot to prevent Utah from answering, then he scored in the post after creating space with a fake pass. Some running circus shots by Campbell and Singleton helped the Bruins retain a comfortable lead deep into the second half, and big man Kenneth Nwuba came in off the bench to provide some defensive reinforcements as well.
The Utes still had an equal number of turnovers and field goals with 10:44 left on the clock. UCLA called off the press down the stretch, though, as they slowly added to their lead and cruised to a win.
The lead ballooned to as many as 24 on a late fast break dunk by Clark, and the Bruins were ahead by double digits for the entirety of the second half.
Jaquez put up a goose egg in the first half, but scored eight in the second. The senior did also manage to set some season-highs with 12 rebounds and six assists. Clark added eight points of his own in the second half to finish with 11, complementing his three steals.
The bench got things going late after not seeing the floor much in the first half, as Andrews scored eight points and Nwuba blocked five shots.
UCLA will return to Pauley Pavilion for a showdown with Colorado on Saturday. That game will tip off at 5 p.m. and will be televised on FOX as the Bruins try to extend the longest active winning streak in high major hoops.
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