On Russell Westbrook night at the Pauley Pavilion, the UCLA Bruins knocked off the defending PAC-12 Champions, the seventh-ranked Arizona Wildcats on a buzzer beating three pointer from Bryce Alford. This win also gives the Bruins their first win of the conference season after dropping both games in Washington last weekend.
Bruins lead the entire first half
During the opening 20 minutes, UCLA came out with a fire inside of them that they did not really show at all last weekend when they dropped both games in the Pacific Northwest. The Bruins started the game on a 7-2 run which was aided by Isaac Hamilton as he scored the game’s first five points.
They never trailed in the opening half, answering every run that the Wildcats tried to make. UCLA came out with fantastic energy, which was aided in part to the packed Pavilion. After under-eight television time out, the Bruins pushed their lead from four to eight in about a minute which ignited them for the rest of the half. To end the half, Alford hit his first half ending shot giving the Bruins all the momentum in the world.
Arizona's comeback comes close
After Arizona hit a four free throws in a row to trim the lead to five the best shooter on their team, Gabe York, cut UCLA’s lead to just four in the beginning part of the second period which slowed the momentum of the Bruins a little. However, on a possession soon after, Alfred was left wide open in the right corner and the coach’s son found the bottom of the net, which pushed the lead back up to nine.
The side from Tucson, however, did not quit and nearly came all the way back in the game. They went on a 15-2 run late in the second half sparked by the grittiness and play-making ability of Kadeem Allen. In that run, the junior college transfer scored seven of those points, including two four points in 39 seconds while finishing up an and-one.
Alford led the way tonight, finishing the night with 25 points, including a couple of threes before the end of each half. Five of those nine made attempts from the field came from behind the arc and was a thorn in the side of Arizona’s side all night long. He also created opportunities for his teammates throughout the contest finishing with six assists.
UCLA will hope to get back to .500 to PAC-12 play this weekend when they host the Arizona State Sun Devils. Meanwhile, Sean Miller’s club will have to rebound quickly as they round up their Los Angeles trip with a matchup against a surprising USC Trojan’s squad that is defying all expectations at the moment.