UCLA men’s basketball surges past Stanford for first Pac-12 win of season
Senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. boxes out defenders in a game against Sacramento State. Jaquez led No. 21 UCLA men’s basketball to a win against Stanford on Thursday night with a game-high 27 points. (Kyle Kotancheck/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Men’s Basketball
No. 21 UCLA | 80 |
Stanford | 66 |
By Jon Christon
Dec. 1, 2022 9:57 p.m.
A picture-perfect start saved the Bruins from an ultimate collapse to start conference play.
Despite leading by as much as 23 points in the first half, No. 21 UCLA men’s basketball (6-2, 1-0 Pac-12) had to fight in the second half for an 80-66 victory over Stanford (3-5, 0-1) on the road Thursday. Though the Bruins were outscored by seven points in the final 20 minutes, they created enough separation in the opening frame to earn their first Pac-12 win of the year.
Everything went right for the blue and gold to start the night. The Bruins and Cardinal alternated points and turnovers, respectively, on 10 of the game’s first 11 possessions as UCLA held a double-digit advantage less than three minutes into the contest. More Stanford miscues led to more UCLA points, and just like that, the Bruins had scored 17 unanswered points to begin the contest.
UCLA made all of its first seven field goal attempts in the 17-0 stretch, with senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. punctuating the torrid start on a breakaway dunk off of an errant Stanford inbounds pass. Jaquez and freshman guard Amari Bailey led the way on the opening outburst, combining for 15 early points.
Though the first half would be closer the rest of the way, UCLA still entered the locker room up by 21 points – its largest halftime advantage against a Pac-12 foe in the coach Mick Cronin era.
Stanford flipped the script on UCLA to begin the second half, however, after a 9-0 Cardinal run put the game within 12 with plenty of time left on the clock.
It looked as if the Bruins weathered the storm, with a pair of three-point plays from Jaquez bookending UCLA’s counterpunch to come out the other side up by 22 points.
But Stanford punched back. The Cardinal forced 13 Bruin turnovers in the second half compared to just three in the first, using the UCLA miscues to get within single digits before the game’s final media timeout.
Jaquez, though, eventually landed the knockout blow. After being held off the scoreboard for over 10 minutes in the final frame, the senior forced his way to the basket to two straight possessions and put the game out of reach with two minutes to go with a 14-point lead.
The guard/forward led UCLA in scoring with 27 points for the second straight game. Bailey was close behind with 19, though only four of those came in the final 20 minutes. Redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell was the third and final Bruin to score in double figures, finishing with 17 points and eight assists.