LAS VEGAS — All the talk of UCLA’s ability to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, from the preseason to recent weeks, has centered around the Bruins’ experience. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell and David Singleton know the ropes and can lead the Bruins through adversity, so the conventional wisdom goes.
But when UCLA faced its first March challenge in Thursday’s Pac-12 quarterfinals against a no-quit Colorado team, it was the Bruins’ freshmen, not the seniors, who led UCLA out of the darkness.
Amari Bailey scored a career-high 26 points and Adem Bona provided all the hustle plays top-seeded UCLA needed to dispatch ninth-seeded Colorado 80-69 at T-Mobile Arena.
A Bailey layup put UCLA ahead to start the second half, and each time Colorado took the lead or threatened, the freshman guard seemed to answer. Running out in transition to draw a foul and make his free throws. Or dribbling in and pulling up for a go-ahead jumper.
But when hustle was needed, that was Bona’s calling card. He dove into the Bruins’ bench in an attempt to save a loose ball. He took a charge in the second half and immediately made the go-ahead layup on the other end. And he soared through the air for transition blocks to erase his teammates’ mistakes.
Still, Colorado hung around, cutting an eight-point UCLA lead to four with 2:26 to play. By then, it was time for Jaquez to take over. He intercepted a Tristan da Silva pass and took it the distance, finishing a layup through a foul and hugging the base of the hoop before completing a three-point play to get the requisite breathing room.
And so UCLA survived its first game without Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Clark after his lower-leg injury, and moved onto the conference semifinals to face either Oregon or Washington State on Friday.
Colorado sunk 3-pointers on the first two possessions of the game and made its first four shots. Still, it didn’t feel like this was a result of Clark’s absence so much as the…
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