Tyger Campbell scores 17, UCLA No. 5 pulls far to beat Cal – Orange County Register
BERKELEY, Calif. – Tyger Campbell scored 17 points, Johnny Juzang made a late treble despite his worst shooting performance of the season, and No 5 UCLA beat California 60-52 on Saturday night.
Jaime Jaquez Jr added 14 points as the Bruins (10-1, 2-0 Pac-12) returned victorious in the game after being absent for nearly a month due to COVID-19 issues.
“Honestly, we feel like we’re starting over with such a big break,” UCLA coach Mike Cronin said. “I knew we were going to take Cal’s best shot because I knew what (coach) Mark Fox was made of. We told our guys we would probably have to crush it out. ”
The Bruins players were closed and limited to four 3-pointers but were dragged behind a defense that held the Golden Bears to eight points in the final nine minutes.
Campbell, who has had three of the 10 Bruins steals, said: “We had a point in the transition and we were able to build on that and create things. “The coach likes to turn our defense into an attack so that’s good for us. It worked for us because on nights like tonight we didn’t shoot our best offensively and our defense kept them below 60. It’s good to come back. ”
Juzang, UCLA’s top scorer and all-around American pre-season, missed six of his first seven shots but pulled three-pointers to give the Bruins a 55-43 lead. Juzang has doubled in 17 consecutive games since last season, but finished Saturday with nine points.
Andre Kelly had 22 points and six rebounds for California. The Bears (9-7, 2-3) have lost nine straight games to their internal opponents.
“We did a lot of things to have a chance throughout the game, but for the best, you have to be a little bit better than us tonight,” Fox said. “We can point to four or five small, small mistakes in the game that end up being the difference. I think just being a little more consistent across the board will get us through. ”
UCLA methodically withdrew in the second half after the Bruins missed their first six shots after halftime.
Juzang gave UCLA a 49-39 lead after Cody Riley intercepted Grant Anticevich’s pass and passed it to Campbell, who found Juzang under the basket to make a substitution. Campbell followed with a 3 to make it 52-39.
Campbell and Jaquez tied the score 15-5 late in the first half. Campbell powerfully attacked the basket and spun past defenders to score while Jaquez shot from low to give the Bruins a 31-25 lead.
HOW MY WORK IS BACK
Riley had nine points, five rebounds and four top steals in his second game back after missing UCLA’s first nine points with a meniscus injury in his left knee.
“I feel good,” Riley said. “Just working back to getting back in shape and working on conditioning and getting back to the flow of things on the pitch.”
ONE PLAY TO REMEMBER
Shepherd put in a great defensive play to be blocked from behind after Juzang’s effort in the main effort, then went the other way and scored to drag Cal in 31-29 early in the second half. .
BIG PICTURE
UCLA: The Bruins had to fix early problems on the board and a foul on target appeared early. But Cronin’s side still adhere to defensive principles and have improved to 22-3 over the past two seasons, holding opponents to 70 points or less. UCLA has won four games in a row since its only loss last season-No. 1 Gonzaga in November.
California: The bears are back at home after winning the previous nine at Haas Pavilion. Fox’s team has shown marked improvements in defense this season and proved it by holding the Pac-12’s top 3-pointer team to 4/18 through the arc. The problem continues to be the inconsistency of the offence.
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/01/08/tyger-campbell-scores-17-no-5-ucla-pulls-away-to-beat-cal/ Tyger Campbell scores 17, UCLA No. 5 pulls far to beat Cal – Orange County Register