STANFORD — UCLA is working its way up the Pac-12 standings, and the reward could be a top-four seed in next month’s conference tournament.
Sebastian Mack scored 21 points, Adem Bona had 16 points and eight rebounds, and UCLA beat Stanford, 82-74, on Wednesday night for its fourth straight victory and sixth in the past seven games.
UCLA (12-11 overall, 7-5 Pac-12) moved ahead of Stanford (11-11, 6-6) in the quest for a top-four seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, which comes with a bye into the quarterfinals.
UCLA, which got contributions from up and down its lineup, made a steal under the Stanford basket with just under two minutes remaining and Bona made a shot in the lane at the other end for a 74-67 lead.
Stanford forward Maxime Raynaud made just one of four free-throw attempts during a 40-second stretch with less than two minutes remaining. The Bruins sealed it by making eight consecutive free throws in the final 40 seconds.
UCLA went 23 for 30 from the free-throw line compared to Stanford’s 17 attempts.
Will McClendon scored a career-high 13 points and Dylan Andrews also scored 13 for UCLA. Lazar Stefanovic added 10 points. Bona fouled out with 49.1 seconds left.
Mack scored 12 points in the first half to help UCLA take a 35-33 lead into the intermission. Stanford shot 52% from the field but turned it over eight times. Five of UCLA’s 12 field goals were from 3-point range.
The Bruins, who entered the game shooting 32% from 3-point range, made a season-high 11 3-pointers on 25 attempts. UCLA’s 10th 3-pointer came with 8:54 remaining for a 57-53 lead.
UCLA was largely successful defending Stanford’s shooters, holding the Cardinal to a 4-for-17 showing (23.5%) from behind the arc.
Raynaud had 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace Stanford. Spencer Jones added 15 points and Brandon Angel added 12.
UCLA plays another road game against Cal on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Stanford stays home to play USC on Saturday at 7 p.m.
More to come on this story.
UCLA…
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