UCLA men’s basketball returns to Pauley Pavilion with win over Washington State

This post was updated Feb. 17 at 11:20 p.m.

A quick cut to the rim and a backdoor pass set Jaylen Clark up for a layup. 

The sophomore guard caught the pass and scored, good for his 11th and 12th points of the night, breaking his previous career high with over seven minutes to go in the first half. 

Clark’s early offense – scoring or assisting on 20 of the Bruins’ first 24 points – gave No. 13 UCLA men’s basketball (18-5, 10-4 Pac-12) a first-half, double-digit lead in its 76-56 win over Washington State (14-11, 7-7). By the end of the contest, Clark had recorded his first career double-double and new career highs in every statistical category except blocks. 

“It’s great to see. We’re all so happy for him,” said junior guard Johnny Juzang. “Nobody is surprised.”

Clark was announced as a starter over redshirt junior guard Tyger Campbell, who was unavailable because of a violation of team rules, according to a UCLA spokesperson.

“I love (Campbell) dearly,” said coach Mick Cronin. “But if you have rules and you don’t enforce them, you don’t have rules. It’s pretty simple.”

The sophomore guard was the first of two changes to UCLA’s usual starters, with redshirt senior center Myles Johnson getting the nod over redshirt senior forward Cody Riley. Thursday marked Clark’s second start of his career, with the sophomore also setting a previous career high Jan. 15 in place of junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. 

Before the tipoff, Campbell led the starter’s huddle with words of encouragement for a game he would not participate in. 

“He was just telling us, ‘We got to get the win tonight,’” Clark said. “We know our situation in the Pac-12; we’re trying to still win the Pac-12. So we can’t come out and play around with them. They are a good team.”

Through the first 8 1/2 minutes, Clark totaled eight points and two steals. He was busy setting up his teammates as well, recording three assists in the first 10 minutes. 

“I’m an unselfish player. I know how to find my team,” Clark said. “They allowed me to really play my game tonight.”

For two minutes without Clark’s presence, the Bruins’ offense found itself in a scoring drought. With Clark subbing out at the 11:26 mark in the first half, UCLA did not find another basket until the sophomore checked back in and cashed in on a putback for his ninth and 10th points. The first half saw Clark finish shooting 5-of-7 with five assists and a team-high plus/minus of +14. 

He wasn’t the only Bruin to find buckets early, after UCLA had been held to its lowest shooting percentage of the campaign in its loss to USC nearly a week ago.

At the first media timeout, UCLA hadn’t yet missed from the floor, shooting 5-of-5. 

“If you just worry about hustling, deflections and rebounding, the ball will go in,” Cronin said. “Just play. You sit around and just start stressing over whether you’re making shots, it’s only going to get worse.”

On the opposite end of the floor, the Cougars started the game 0-of-6, with their only points coming from two free throws. Washington State entered the halftime locker room with a 10-point deficit, keeping the game close with five 3-pointers on 17 attempts. 

The Bruins’ double-digit lead was threatened for the first few minutes of the second half, with the home team racking up four turnovers in the opening four minutes of the final frame. A lost ball from Johnson allowed a fast-break 3-pointer from Cougar guard Tyrell Roberts, and a travel by Riley set Washington State up for free throws that brought the game to four points. 

But the Cougars found the basket only once in the next four minutes. A steal from Riley with 14 1/2 minutes to play led to an and-1 dunk at the other end that pushed the lead back to double-digits for the home squad.

“Our guys all got lost in the game trying to focus on their hustle and their toughness and their defense,” Cronin said. “To me, that’s why the ball went in.” 

The Bruins broke 70 points with less than 5 1/2 minutes to play off a baseline jumper from junior guard Johnny Juzang that extended UCLA’s lead to 22 points. Coming into the game, Washington State had conceded 70 or more points on two occasions in conference play this season. 

Clark finished the night with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and five assists, and he led the Bruins in each of those categories, except points. Juzang paced UCLA with 19. 

“I feel like I can play anywhere,” Clark said. “Whether that’s rebound, guard a 7-footer, guard the point guard on their team, pass, score – I feel like I can do it all.”