LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team played their best nine minutes in the last three weeks to close out the Pac-12 era at Pauley Pavilion on a positive note.
The Bruins blew a 10-point lead in the first half, which they gained during an 18-0 run but rallied in the second half, closing out the game on a 26-5 run by relying on their defense to overcome a poor shooting performance and earn a hard-fought 59-47 win against Arizona State Saturday night.
Notably, UCLA held the Sun Devils to five points in the final nine minutes of the game.
Sophomore forward Adem Bona led UCLA with 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half. Bona, who finished with a double-double also grabbed 12 rebounds and went 8 of 8 at the free-throw line. Junior guard Lazar Stefanovic had 16 points and six assists. Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews added 12 points and six assists.
The Bruins (15-16, 10-10 Pac-12) trailed 31-27 at halftime in the storied 11-time NCAA champion program’s final Pac-12 regular season game ever at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA tied the game at 31 with 19:34 left in the second half but was ultimately outplayed to that point and fell behind 42-33 with 12:52 to go.
The Bruins, who shot 38.3% from the field, only mustered six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
However, UCLA freshman guard Sebastian Mack’s 3-pointer cut Arizona State’s lead to 43-37 with 9:15 to go. Andrews’ midrange jumper made it 44-39 at 8:11 mark. Stefanovic’s 3-pointer cut it to 44-42. A 3-pointer by Andrews put UCLA up 45-44 with 5:44 to go. Mack’s 3-pointer extended the Bruins lead to 48-44 with 4:55 remaining in the game. Bona made two free throws to go up 50-44 with 3:45 to go. Bona’s layup made it 52-44. Stefanovic’s fifth 3-pointer of the game put the Bruins up 56-45 with 59 seconds left in the game. Andrews capped off the win with a 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining, securing the 59-47 victory.
Meanwhile, it was also senior night for reserve…
Read the full article here
