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No. 4 UCLA men’s basketball outmatches Marquette with double-digit victory

Junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. slings a pass to the perimeter in No. 4 UCLA men’s basketball’s exhibition game against Chico State on Nov. 4. Jaquez finished Saturday night with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Bruins took down Marquette in Milwaukee. (Ariana Fadel/Daily Bruin staff)

Men’s basketball


No. 4 UCLA67
Marquette56

By Jon Christon

Dec. 11, 2021 9:09 p.m.

A cracked windshield delayed the blue and gold from getting on the court.

But once the Bruins made it onto the hardwood, they delivered from the opening tip – seven-hour difference in start time and all.

After spending the night in Denver following a plane malfunction on the team’s flight to Milwaukee, No. 4 UCLA men’s basketball (8-1, 2-0 Pac-12) won the initial jump ball and won the contest, defeating Marquette (8-3) by a score of 67-56. With the game starting at 6:30 p.m. instead of its scheduled 11:30 a.m. tipoff, the Bruins started Saturday evening with an early lead and never looked back.  

A pair of shots from beyond the arc from redshirt junior guard Tyger Campbell and junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. put UCLA up seven at the first media timeout. Jaquez would make his next two 3-pointer attempts, and a pair of free throws from the junior with 5:02 left in the first half would give him 14 opening-frame points.

At that point, Jaquez’s total bested Marquette’s whole team, as UCLA held a 33-10 lead with the Golden Eagles shooting as low as 3-of-26 in the first half. Along with his team-high scoring total, Jaquez shot a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and grabbed five rebounds.

The Bruins scored two points the rest of the period after Jaquez’s free throws, however, as the Golden Eagles entered the locker room on an 8-0 run after two 3s from guard Greg Elliott. 

Elliott picked up where he left off to start the second half, making his first 3 a minute into the half to put Marquette within 11. The Golden Eagle guard finished with a career-high 22 points in 25 minutes. 

But after a first half in which he was limited to two points, junior guard Johnny Juzang answered right back with a pair of baskets – one of which came from beyond the arc – to ensure UCLA’s lead would not fall below double digits until the final minute.

After UCLA extended its lead to 22 on the back of another pair of Juzang buckets with 14:41 left in the contest, Marquette outscored the road team 26-15. The Bruins shot 31.6% in the second half, and what was once a 23-point lead fell to nine with 47.8 seconds left in the game. 

That would be the closest the Golden Eagles would get, as free throws from Campbell extended the Bruins’ lead back out to double digits to end the contest. The win was good enough for UCLA to pick up its eighth victory of the season, all but one of which have come by more than 10 points.

Jaquez led UCLA in scoring, putting up a season-high 24 points along with 11 rebounds. Juzang and Campbell were the only other two Bruins to score in double digits, chipping in 12 points apiece while the former finished with eight assists and five rebounds.

Next up for UCLA is a home matchup against Alabama State on Wednesday.

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Jon Christon | Sports senior staff
Christon is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously the Sports editor on the men's basketball and football beats and the assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis beats. Christon was previously a contributor on the women's basketball and softball beats.
Christon is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously the Sports editor on the men's basketball and football beats and the assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis beats. Christon was previously a contributor on the women's basketball and softball beats.
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