No. 3 UCLA rebounds nicely with 81-65 win over Oregon State
Johnny Juzang put in 24 points, Jules Bernard broke out of his shooting slump, sophomore guard Jaylen Clark pitched in 11 points and four boards in a spot start, and No. 3 UCLA cruised to an 81-65 win over Oregon State Saturday evening inside Pauley Pavilion.
After a lethargic effort in an overtime upset loss to Oregon on Thursday, UCLA rebounded nicely against the Beavers. It controlled things for most of the game and led for the final 27 minutes of game clock. The Bruins moved to 11-2, on the season (3-1 Pac-12).
UCLA didn’t shoot particularly well from 3-point range (2-for-12), but it was lights out from inside the arc. For the game, the Bruins shot 62%. On 2s, they made 27 of its 35 looks. They just kept attacking. UCLA won the battle in the paint 40-22, and on the defensive side of the ball it forced 16 turnovers.
That’s the side that made head coach Mick Cronin happy
“Conference games are bloodbaths,” Cronin said after the game. “I thought we fought a lot harder as the game went on, defensively.
“The thing I told the team was this was perfect statistically. … Since I’ve been here, every time we try to jump-shoot our way to victory we’re not a good team anymore. When we try to play hard, scrap, claw, fight, and we’re still getting there because they got 11 offensive rebounds, so that’s something we’ve got to clean up. That being said, we had five guards on the floor.”
And they all fought. Clark, who stands 6-foot-5, played some small-ball five. Oregon State was beaten soundly in the second half. It got a handful of triples to fall to keep things respectable, but UCLA held the Beavers to 39% from the field over the final 20 minutes.
For a team coming off a shocking loss, that’s about as good as it gets.
Bernard finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with four boards and three assists. Tyger Campbell pitched in 13 points, four steals, and three assists. Of course, Cronin was also happy with the offensive diet that consisted of 40 paint points and 26 free throw attempts.
“You get 61 points on layups and free throws, you’re gonna win,” he said.
And win they did. UCLA will look to keep it rolling against Utah on Thursday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. PT.
The Beavers, now 3-13 on the season and 1-5 in conference play, are back in action Thursday against Washington. Dawshawn Davis and Jarod Lucas each had 12 points to lead Oregon State in the loss, but with defeats in each of their last three games, the Beavers will need more across the board to right the ship.