UCLA men’s basketball faces 5th loss to crosstown rival USC under Cronin

This post was updated Feb. 13 at 10:48 p.m.

With the Bruins trailing by two points, Trojan guard Drew Peterson pulled up for a deep midrange jumper. 

It swished in, with his foot on the line, and the Galen Center crowd erupted.

Down the other end of the floor, a missed layup from junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. pushed the volume further up in the 10,258-seat, sold-out stadium. 

After the Trojans scored again coming up the court, a timeout was called from the UCLA bench with 6:24 to play. The crowd was on its feet, the noise deafening.

As the Bruins chased the game, down by three points, another long-range dagger from Peterson pushed the lead to six, helping to extend the lead and eventually seal the win for No. 21 USC (21-4, 10-4 Pac-12) over No. 12 UCLA men’s basketball (17-5, 9-4) by a score of 67-64. 

“Drew Peterson had a great night, give him credit. But that didn’t beat us,” coach Mick Cronin said. “We gave up too many layups, that’s where they beat us. They were the tougher team.” 

The next possessions saw the Trojan lead grow to eight points. But the Bruins would have one more opportunity. A USC turnover and ensuing foul brought the game to within five before two more free throws from Campbell brought the lead back to three.

Similar to the last two meetings between UCLA and USC, the game came down to one possession. On USC’s next possession, Campbell stole the ball off a bad pass. Stepping back with the ball, he took a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left. 

“It felt good, and it looked good,” Campbell said. “But it didn’t go in.” 

The Trojans in the student section – the largest in attendance in Galen Center history – stormed the court, jumping up and down, their arms erect and their fingers forming a “V.” 

“I don’t know why anyone would storm the court for beating us,” Cronin said. 

It was a “V” for victory, the fifth consecutive time the Trojans have been victorious over Cronin since he took the helm in spring 2019. 

Offensively, UCLA shot a season-low 30.2% for the game and 25.7% in the second half. The Bruins’ two leading scorers on the season, junior guard Johnny Juzang and senior guard Jules Bernard, shot a combined 5-of-25. 

“It’s tough when you can’t contribute on the offensive end as much as you want,” Juzang said. “It was a frustrating night – we’ve got to figure it out.”

After shooting 35.7% in the first half, the start of the second half didn’t bring any change. Four minutes in, UCLA hauled in two offensive rebounds and gave itself three looks to score. The shots wouldn’t fall though, and the points the Bruins had secured to that point in the period were off a free throw from Jaquez. 

UCLA took the lead for the first time since 11:16 in the first half with two made free throws from Campbell. At that point, only Campbell, Jaquez and Juzang had scored for the Bruins in the closing frame. 

Campbell was responsible for the bulk of the Bruins’ offense on the night, totaling 27 points – a new career high. He sank 13-of-14 free throws on the night. 

“We wouldn’t have been in the game if it wasn’t for him,” Cronin said. 

UCLA had trailed its crosstown rival for most of the opening frame but closed out the first half with an 8-0 run, with Campbell scoring the last 10 points of the half for the Bruins.

A corner 3-pointer narrowed an eight-point, first-half Trojan lead to five points, and free throws on the next possession kept the score within three points at 33-31. 

Those points capped off a first half for Campbell in which he led the team with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting. He hit both of his attempts from behind the arc while sinking all six of his free throws. 

“I told the whole team to keep their heads up,” Campbell said. “We’re at home on Thursday, so we’re just trying to get ready for the next one. It was a tough one here, but we have got to be on it for the next one.”