Men’s basketball finishes perfect road trip with victory over Colorado
Redshirt junior guard Tyger Campbell dribbles the ball in No. 9 UCLA men’s basketball’s first victory over Colorado on Dec. 1. Campbell scored a late 3-pointer to propel the Bruins over the Buffaloes again Saturday night. (Lauren Man/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Men’s Basketball
| No. 9 UCLA | 71 |
| Colorado | 65 |
By Jon Christon
Jan. 22, 2022 8:39 p.m.
The Bruins were on the brink of collapse.
Buffalo forward Jabari Walker had just dunked the ball, trimming a 17-point deficit to one while getting the home crowd on its feet with under two minutes to go.
But despite missing his first six shot attempts on the night, Tyger Campbell managed to send a hush through the CU Events Center.
A 3-pointer from the redshirt junior guard extended the visiting team’s lead to four, giving No. 9 UCLA men’s basketball (13-2, 5-1 Pac-12) enough wiggle room to escape Boulder with a 71-65 victory over Colorado (12-6, 4-4) on Saturday night. The win secured a sweep of the Pac-12 mountain schools for the Bruins.
A 22-8 spurt to end the first half gave UCLA a 15-point advantage heading into the halftime locker room despite one point from Campbell on 0-of-3 shooting. Even so, the Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first 20 minutes while attempting 13 more field goal attempts than their opponent.
But with Campbell’s shooting struggles continuing into the start of the second half, Colorado was able to creep back into the game. After the Bruins extended their lead to 17 early in the final frame, the Buffaloes rattled off a 17-6 run to make the score 53-47 at the under-eight media timeout.
Colorado forwards Evan Battey and Walker continued to put pressure on the visiting team, as the duo combined to score 16 of the Buffaloes’ last 18 points. Even with back-to-back jumpers from junior guard Johnny Juzang, Walker’s dunk put the Buffaloes at the doorstep of an upset.
Campbell, though, slammed the door shut. His 3-pointer with 1:37 remaining – his only make on the evening – put the Bruins up four, and the UCLA defense held Colorado without a field goal on the rest of its active possessions.
Juzang paced the Bruins in scoring with 23, marking his fourth straight game with more than 20 points. Campbell, who had scored in double figures in eight straight contests entering the week, was held to four points on 1-of-8 shooting two nights after scoring five points against Utah.
UCLA will return home with a rescheduled matchup against No. 3 Arizona on Tuesday night.
