UCLA Men's Basketball Holds On To Beat USC, Break Losing Streak Versus Crosstown Rival
For three straight years, Mick Cronin could not get the crosstown monkey off his back.
Neither could Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Whether it was Jonah Mathews or Tahj Eaddy hitting a buzzer-beater, or Tyger Campbell coming up just short on an otherwise career night, the Bruins just hadn't been able to get by the Trojans since Cronin arrived in Westwood.
That all changed Saturday night.
"I thought about it the whole week going into it," Jaquez said. "It's (the senior's) last night here and there's no way we were gonna let it happen here on our court against USC."
No. 17 UCLA men's basketball (23-6, 15-5 Pac-12) beat No. 16 USC (25-6, 14-6 record) for the first time since 2019, clinging on for a 75-68 victory in Pauley Pavilion. It marked the first career win over the Trojans for Cronin, Jaquez, Campbell and a handful of other Bruins, and it also locked them in as the No. 2 seed in next week's Pac-12 tournament.
Jaquez, fresh off breaking the 1,000-point threshold and notching a career-high 30 points on Monday, led the way with 27 on 10-of-16 shooting Saturday. He and guard Jules Bernard combined for 46 points and UCLA had just one turnover – its fewest on record – and Cronin said the combination of those advantages meant his team should have won by double-figures rather than letting it come down to the wire.
"I didn’t like the way we finished the game," Cronin said. "We've got March coming up, I came here to try and lift the 12th championship."
Both teams came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, as each side hit its first four field goals of the night. The Bruins had a pair of free throws from Jaime Jaquez on top of that, putting them up 10-9.
The next nine shots that went up were all no good, though, and the teams came to a standstill.
That's when guard Johnny Juzang entered the game, coming off the bench for the first time all year, and he immediately got a short jumper to fall. Jaquez pushed a fast break not long after, getting a lefty layup to go, and then guard Tyger Campbell sent one ahead to guard Jaylen Clark for a transition slam that made it 16-9.
UCLA was on an 8-0 run and USC burned a quick timeout as Clark flexed under the hoops, getting showered with applause from a crowd that routinely drowned out the shot clock buzzer with its cheers.
"I wish it was louder, to give you my honest answer," Cronin said. "I think it's great to have everybody here but I think we're just too nice compared to some places I've been, we've been."
The Trojans staged a 9-3 run to make it a one-point game again, but Bernard spun into a pull-up elbow jumper and then got a lucky bounce on another midrange attempt to create a bit more of a cushion.
After USC hit a 3-pointer, Juzang answered with a runner and Clark forced a third shot-clock violation amid a scrum on the other end, Bernard came through with a baseline floater and then hit a 3-pointer of his own.
But just like they had the past few times the Bruins looked like they were running away with it, the Trojans cut the 11-point gap down to six.
It then became Campbell's time to shine, following in the footsteps of Jaquez and Bernard with a mini-run that consisted of a deep straightaway triple and a fadeaway jumper on the left wing.
Even though USC made it a 41-35 contest before the half with a few free throws, it was not shaping up to be the same kind of crosstown rivalry game that the Trojans won in 2020, 2021 and earlier in 2022. In those matchups, USC averaged 62.8 points per game and never allowed UCLA to break 64, but the Bruins were shooting 57% from the field with only one turnover and were on pace for 82.
The Trojans were able to limit the Bruins to 1-of-6 shooting to open the second half, though, eventually tying things up at 47 all off a 4-point play by guard Boogie Ellis.
Jaquez answered by driving to the hole, following a double-screen by Campbell and forward Cody Riley, and his right-handed slam put UCLA back ahead. What eventually became a six-point lead after Jaquez hit his second jumper through contact was once again erased, though – guard Drew Peterson hit back-to-back acrobatic jumpers and USC was only trailing by one.
Seemingly sick of the Trojans continuing to crawl their way back into the game, Jaquez hit three straight midrange jumpers. When USC swarmed him in the paint, he had the vision to kick out to Bernard for a corner 3.
"I've just been feeling really good as far as my body, my ankles are doing a lot better right now," Jaquez said. "And I got a dunk, thank god."
That was the beginning of a 13-2 run for UCLA, and after they went up 69-56 with 5:34 to play, it once again seemed as if the Bruins had done enough to cruise to a win. As was the case the previous few times the Trojans faced a big deficit, the game was far from over.
Peterson knocked down a 3-pointer and forward Isaiah Mobley got a three-point play down low to cap off a 12-1 run and make it 70-68 UCLA.
The Bruins had missed 10 shots in a row. Needing a bucket to avoid heartbreak at the hands of the Trojans for a sixth time in a row, it wasn't Jaquez, Bernard, Juzang or Campbell who came through in the clutch.
Instead, it was Riley – the owner of the only negative plus-minus on the team – who spun into a fadeaway jumper that stopped the bleeding.
"We had to execute to score or we were in deep trouble," Cronin said. "Cody missed three layups to start the half but that was a big shot."
UCLA gave USC several chances to erase that bucket and take a lead, missing three consecutive free throws in the final minute, but the Trojans missed their last four attempts from the field and failed to take advantage.
Bernard totaled 19 points while Campbell put up nine and Juzang scored eight.
UCLA will next take the court Thursday at the Pac-12 tournament, still waiting to see which conference foe it will face in the quarterfinals.
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