UCLA Men's Basketball Cruises to Win Over Washington State in Pac-12 Tournament

LAS VEGAS — Jaime Jaquez Jr. was able to stay hot Thursday night, and the Bruins live to fight another day in Vegas as a result.

No. 2 seed UCLA men's basketball (24-6, 15-5 Pac-12) ran away from No. 7 seed Washington State (19-14, 11-9), picking up a 75-65 win in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals. Jaquez led the way with 23 points, 17 of which came after halftime, and the Bruins led by double digits for all but 88 seconds in the second half.

Jaquez also notched his fourth double-double of the year, leading UCLA to a 40-25 advantage on the boards and a 17-2 advantage in second-chance points.

In his third year with the program, Jaquez is finally headed to the Pac-12 semifinals for the first time in his career. On top of that, the wing is up to 80 points in his last three appearances.

"It's why you develop players," said coach Mick Cronin. "He's developed in coaching matters and attitude matters, that's why we do things the way we do things."

Jaquez and guard Johnny Juzang were getting everything they wanted around the rim to start, as they each picked up four points in the first five minutes. The Bruins led 10-4 to that point, as the 3-point-reliant Cougars had missed their first five shots from downtown.

Washington State went from dying by the 3 to living by it, knocking down back-to-back attempts from deep. Guard Jules Bernard got things back on track with a 3-pointer of his own, and after UCLA forced a shot clock violation, guard Tyger Campbell got in on the action with a contested layup.

That was far from enough breathing room, though, as the Cougars got two consecutive 3-pointers out of guard Tyrell Roberts while the Bruins went three minutes without a field goal. UCLA held Washington State to 2-of-9 shooting to open the game, only to give up five makes on their next six attempts.

The Bruins were hardly even getting off any shots during that stretch, turning the ball over four times in a five-minute span. That put UCLA on pace for over 15 giveaways, despite them entering Thursday averaging 9.1 a night – fourth-best in the nation.

A pair of perfect trips to the line by center Myles Johnson and guard/forward Peyton Watson – the Bruins' two worst free throw shooters – helped tie things back up at 21 apiece, then a 3-pointer by Bernard with the shot clock expiring vaulted UCLA back ahead.

"We were stuck in the mud little bit and Jules made some big shots, got us going, got our energy level up," Cronin said. "We got out in transition and I thought that changed the game."

The rangy bench options added another four points – Johnson on some more free throws and Watson on a pull up jumper – and then it was Jaquez and Bernard who converted on another couple layups. Johnson hit an and-1, improving to 5-of-5 from the line on the night, before Bernard hit a 3 and slashed to the rim for a second-chance layup.

All the while, Washington State had missed 10 shots in a row and turned it over four times in between those misses. UCLA spun that into a 21-2 run, going up by 17 before the Cougars hit a few shots and made it 40-28 at the break.

Washington State opened up the second half by forcing a turnover, hitting a layup and draining a 3, all of a sudden making it a seven-point contest. A layup by forward Cody Riley and 3-pointer by Bernard stretched the lead back out to 12, though, and Jaquez knocked down a straightaway triple to make it 13 not long after.

The Bruins stayed up by double digits despite allowing the Cougars to hit 7-of-8 shots to end the first and start the second, thanks in large part to Jaquez getting rolling on offense. Jaquez scored 14 out of 16 for UCLA at one point in the second half, eventually putting them back up by 16 before getting subbed out.

"I would say just taking my time down there and playing at my speed, not trying to go get sped up or anything like that," Jaquez said. "When double teams come, just taking my time and be able to rise up and finish."

When another Bruin finally scored again, it was Jaquez who assisted Johnson down low. Bernard got an and-1 to fall, then Jaquez hit a 3-pointer to make it a 20-point game inside of five minutes.

Washington State turned up its full-court press in the final minutes, which UCLA wound up beating with a dunk from guard Jaylen Clark. That allowed Cronin to bring in the end of his bench, a unit that let the Cougars close the gap with a couple 3-pointers down the stretch.

The Bruins still won handily, though, shooting nearly 50% from the field without missing a free throw. In the paint, on the fast break, off turnovers – the blue and gold got the better of their opponents across the board.

"It’s hard to lose when you get 40 points in the paint and 15 from free throws," Cronin said. "When you can get to 50 on layups and free throws, it’s hard to lose."

UCLA will face the winner of Thursday night's game between USC and Washington, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. The Bruins will return to T-Mobile Arena for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff in the semifinals on Friday.

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