LOS ANGELES - After defeating USC, the UCLA Bruins knew the had a tall task at hand by trying to defeat the Arizona Wildcats. UCLA would have to play a much game than against their previous opponent to advance to the semi-finals of the Pac-12 championship. Led by Kyle Fogg, the Wildcats knew in order to get to the semi-finals and the championship, UCLA would not be a push over, and they had to bring their A game.
Arizona was focused and ready leading most of the entire first half, leading by as much as 10 points over UCLA thanks to a 14-5 run by Kyle Fogg and Solomon Hill. It also got physical as Bruins guard Lazeric Jones took a nasty shot to the nose, where he left the court to seek medical attention. When he returned, he hit a big 3 pointer that capped off a 12-8 run, which kept UCLA within in striking distance going into halftime down 29-23. In the half, both teams had a combined turnover
Arizona turned up the heat in the second half, as Kyle Fogg hit a 3 pointer than increased the lead to nine points. UCLA decided they had enough, led by Jerime Anderson led a 15-8 run with seven crucial point, then Tyler Lamb stole the ball for a layup that gave UCLA their first led of the game at 46-45, with 10 minutes left in the game. The two teams traded baskets as heavyweight boxer traded blows, until Anderson hit a huge 3 pointer to tie the game with Arizona at 51.
Arizona began to pull away, playing solid defense against UCLA, getting Josh Smith to foul out in just nine minutes of play only scoring seven points. The defense continued as Fogg made a huge block on Lazeric Jones, and also caused Travis Ware to pick up his fourth foul which proved to be very costly for UCLA.
Later on Travis Wear ended up picking up his fifth foul & fouled out for the first time this season.
Arizona proved to be too much for the UCLA Bruins as they fall 66-58.
Arizona's Solomon Hill led all scorers with 25 points, Kyle Fogg contributed with 13 points, as the Wildcats shot 24-27 from the free throw line.
UCLA's Lazeric Jones finished with 17 points, Jerime Anderson who scored 14 points, along with Travis Wear who scored 10 points.
This loss to Arizona snapped the Bruins three game winning streak, and will not allow them to participate in the NCAA Tournament this year. The Bruins have also stated they will not be apart of the NIT Tournament. This loss doesn't give coach Ben Howland much room to breathe, and if he doesn't make it to the Final Four next year with the big recruiting class he has coming in, UCLA will be searching for a new coach in 2013.
Lazeric Jones talks about the disappointing loss "It hurts and I'm sad knowing that we're done, so soon. It's not the way we wanted it to be."
Next up for Arizona, the hungry Beavers of Oregon State on Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment