No. 24 UCLA men’s basketball improves Pac-12 record to 8-0 with win against Cal

This post was updated Jan. 21 at 9:48 p.m.

BERKELEY — The Bruins had to play catch-up for the second game in a row, but the perfect conference record remains intact.

Like it trailed Washington last Saturday, No. 24 UCLA men’s basketball (12-2, 8-0 Pac-12) was behind California (7-9, 2-7) 36-32 at halftime. But the Bruins outscored the Golden Bears by eight points in the second half to secure a 61-57 victory Thursday night in Berkeley.

Redshirt junior forward Cody Riley led UCLA with 13 points – eight of which came in the second half – as the Bruins came from behind to improve to 8-0 in conference play for the first time since 1982-1983.

“At the end of the day we’re playing to get the win, and we got the win today,” Riley said. “It’s really hard to win on the road, regardless of the team you’re playing. Today we played a team that was hitting some big shots. We expected that, we’re at their place so we knew that we were going to get their best shot and they stayed with us the whole game and we’re just glad we came out with the victory.”

The Bruins led early on in the game, with their biggest lead of the game coming at the 16:46 mark when they went up 9-3. Sophomore guard Johnny Juzang scored a team-high seven points in the first half, which saw UCLA outshoot Cal percentage-wise, although the Golden Bears took the lead into the locker rooms. 

Much of Cal’s offensive success in the first half was thanks to forward Grant Anticevich, who was the lone double-digit scorer at the break. The Australian scored 11 points and was 3-of-3 from 3-point range.

He finished the contest with a game-high 21 points – the matchup’s only 20-point scorer and his team’s only double-digit scorer – and a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc. The Golden Bears shot 45.5% from deep in the losing effort – their second-best 3-point shooting game of the season.

While UCLA didn’t have an answer to Cal’s perimeter shooting, it dominated in the paint. The Bruins grabbed 38 rebounds to Cal’s 23 and won the offensive rebounding battle 9-to-3. Those nine offensive boards lead to eight second-chance points, while the Golden Bears were unable to score any.

Coach Mick Cronin said the victory could be attributed to the paint play by Riley and sophomore guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who scored seven points and tallied seven rebounds.

“When you get in those grinders, 3s aren’t falling, you’ve got to get layups and you’ve got to have a guy who can get you a tough basket around the rim,” Cronin said of Riley. “And I was trying to get him and (Jaquez) around the rim as much as possible to get us some points in the paint. I think it was 28-18 – we were plus-10 in that category, probably the difference in the game right there.”

The Bruins entered Thursday turning the ball over roughly 11 times per game. They committed seven turnovers in the first half – including three by redshirt sophomore guard Tyger Campbell – and 14 in total. 

The Pac-12’s assists leader turned the ball over once in the second half, tying the most turnovers he’s committed in a game this season. And after not picking up a single assist in the first half, Campbell recorded a game-high six assists in the second 20 minutes.

Cronin said while he thought Campbell did not play like himself in the first half, his command of the offense helped the Bruins turn things around in the second.

“Look, tonight wasn’t his best game, you know, but he spoiled me,” Cronin said. “He’s played unbelievable. He’s got a tremendous heart. (When) he got his knee brace off and got comfortable, around mid-January last year, our record’s pretty impressive. And you know, it has a lot to do with (Campbell).”

As has been the case for the Bruins of late, neither team was ever able to pull away as each team’s largest lead was six points. Thursday’s game featured six ties and eight lead changes, with the final one coming inside the final three minutes. Riley gave UCLA a one-point advantage at the 2:54 mark and 46 seconds later, junior guard Jules Bernard – who turned 21 on Thursday – knocked down his lone triple of the night to put the game away.

“With that shot, I just wanted to be confident,” Bernard said. “(Campbell) hit me and I was open, so I took the shot with confidence – and my feet were set and I held the follow-through – so I knew it had a good chance of going in and luckily it did.”

Other than uncharacteristically blowing out Washington State by 30 points a week ago, UCLA’s Pac-12 wins have not come easily. All of the Bruins’ last seven conference victories – besides the Cougars’ game – have been by six points or fewer.