UCLA notches second consecutive upset, tops Gonzaga 71-66
Senior forward/center Tony Parker had 12 second-half points on 8-of-8 field goal shooting to lead UCLA past No. 20 Gonzaga Saturday. (Austin Yu/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Claire Fahy
Dec. 12, 2015 8:45 p.m.
SPOKANE, Wash. – When UCLA upset then-No.1 Kentucky just over a week ago, there was raucous celebration in the locker room. When the Bruins topped the No. 20 Gonzaga Bulldogs 71-66 Saturday night, the celebrating was limited to junior guard Bryce Alford pumping his fist at midcourt.
While the Wildcats had embarrassed the Bruins in 2014, UCLA’s matchup with Gonzaga was far more personal. The Bulldogs had trounced the Bruins on their home court and also knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament following a Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen last year. Senior forward/center Tony Parker summed up the win concisely: “big time.”
“We could have played them in a park, we just wanted to play them. It didn’t matter if they were on the schedule or not – we just wanted to play Gonzaga,” Parker said. “A team that puts you out in the tournament is big and it’s just a fun basketball game.”
Parker scored 12 second-half points to ignite UCLA’s offense after the team trailed by two at halftime. Combined with 10 second-half points from junior guard Bryce Alford and 10 bench points from sophomore guard/forward Jonah Bolden, the Bruins outshot the Bulldogs from the field, hitting 47 percent to Gonzaga’s 41.
Junior guard Isaac Hamilton tied Bulldog sharpshooter Kyle Wiltjer for the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. Both players terrorized the opposing defenses, shooting 53 and 46 percent respectively. Hamilton wasted no time in asserting his influence on the game, notching six points, two assists and a steal in the first five minutes.
“They kinda left me open (and) in warmups I was hitting it, so I kinda felt good,” Hamilton said. “Two shots back to back kind of gets you going. It’s definitely a confidence booster and I fed off of that.”
UCLA went 2-8 on the road last season, compared to its 16-1 home record. Many of those road losses were blowouts, most notably the Bruins’ 39-point loss to Kentucky, their 32-point defeat at Utah and their 18-point demise at Oregon. While UCLA dropped two at the Maui Jim Invitational two weeks ago, its win over Gonzaga marks its first official road game.
“The big thing is you want to see growth week to week. Monmouth we had 23 turnovers, tonight eight in our first road game,” said coach Steve Alford. “This team’s growing, it’s getting better and I’m very excited – very, very excited for the guys ‘cause they’re working very hard.”
The Bruins have four ranked teams on its nonconference schedule and have so far played three and upset two. Before Saturday night, only 10 teams had ever won in the McCarthey Center that weren’t named Gonzaga. UCLA added its name to the list with an upset of the nation’s No. 20 team.
“It’s definitely payback,” Hamilton said.”Revenge is pretty sweet.”
