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UCLA men’s basketball burns out against Sun Devils in triple-overtime loss

Junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. dribbles the ball past a defender during a game against California on Jan. 27. Jaquez scored a season-high 27 points against Arizona State on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough to keep No. 3 UCLA men’s basketball from losing the contest. (Sakshi Joglekar/Assistant Photo editor)

Men’s basketball


No. 3 UCLA84
Arizona State87

By Jared Tay

Feb. 5, 2022 10:49 p.m.

This post was updated Feb. 6 at 11:18 p.m.

For two overtime periods, the Bruins and Sun Devils remained deadlocked. 

But on Arizona State’s first possession of the third overtime, guard DJ Horne let go of a shot from the top of the arc. Hitting the front of the rim, it bounced up and in. 

It was the same result on the Sun Devils’ next possession, this time a 3-pointer from guard Jay Heath. 

Despite baskets on the ensuing possessions from junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and redshirt junior guard Tyger Campbell, No. 3 UCLA men’s basketball (16-4, 8-3 Pac-12) was unable to overcome a third-overtime deficit, falling to Arizona State (7-13, 3-7) by a score of 87-84 on Saturday night. 

With UCLA’s loss at No. 7 Arizona on Thursday, the defeat in Tempe marks the first time the Bruins will return home from the desert without picking up a win since 2015. 

Though junior guard Johnny Juzang’s 13 points in the second period helped to close an 11-point second-half gap, the Bruins’ leading scorer on the season shot 0-of-7 in the overtime periods. 

In the first overtime, UCLA shot 3-of-9 from the field, with senior guard David Singleton finding his stroke from behind the arc to keep the game tied at 67 apiece before Jaquez converted an and-1 to put the Bruins at 70. The Sun Devils were able to match the score with a free throw seconds later to send the game to another extra period.

Only three field goals were converted between both teams in the second overtime, and a last-second shot by Jaquez failed to go down that would have given the Bruins the victory. 

UCLA had one final opportunity in the third overtime to tie the game after an intentionally missed free throw from Jaquez bounced off the rim, but a last-second heave from freshman guard/forward Peyton Watson failed to go in. 

The score hadn’t always been deadlocked, though. Since the closing moments of the first half, the Bruins were playing from behind. 

After Arizona State’s first 3-pointer went down with 10 minutes to play in the opening frame, a barrage of Sun Devil makes from beyond the arc had given the home team a lead as great as 11 points in the second half. 

Statistically, the Sun Devils entered their game against the Bruins as the worst-shooting team in the conference. They averaged 6.3 3-pointers per game, converting them at a conference-low rate of 27.5%. 

By the halftime buzzer, the Sun Devils had hit six 3-pointers to propel them to a two-point halftime lead – the first halftime advantage Arizona State had so far in conference play. However, the Bruins were able to slowly chip into the Sun Devil advantage as the minutes in the final frame ticked away. 

With 12 minutes to play in the second half, Juzang began to find his stroke with a mid-range jumper to cut the home squad’s lead to six points. 

Juzang’s first 3-pointer of the night then cut the lead to five, and another 3 from Campbell cut the lead further. That field goal was Campbell’s first of the game after shooting 0-for-6 in the first 33 minutes of play. 

A post hook shot from redshirt senior forward Cody Riley tied the game at 56, and the two squads traded blows until the end of regulation. 

Senior guard Jules Bernard notched his 1,000th career point but totaled six points on the night on 2-of-10 shooting. Jaquez paced the Bruins with a season-high 27 points, making good on 10-of-13 free throws. 

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Jared Tay | Sports senior staff
Tay is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the men's basketball beat. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, men's tennis, cross country and women's tennis beats. Tay was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
Tay is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the men's basketball beat. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, men's tennis, cross country and women's tennis beats. Tay was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
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