UCLA avoids upset with late surge, holds off Akron 57-53
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Tyger Campbell rescued UCLA from a potential upset, scoring eight straight points late in the second half, and the fourth-seeded Bruins rallied for a 57-53 win over No. 13 seed Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
With the Bruins down 51-47 with 3 1/2 minutes left, Campbell took control and helped his team avoid getting bounced on the opening day of the tournament. Campbell hit a corner 3-pointer to pull UCLA within one, knocked down a 15-footer for the lead and added a 25-footer as the shot clock was expiring to put the Bruins ahead 55-51 with 1:17 left.
Even with Campbell's streak, the Bruins still had to sweat the final moments after a missed free throw and Jamie Jacquez Jr. missing a jumper with 15 seconds left. Akron's Ali Ali drove to the basket but didn't have a clean look and was blocked by Cody Riley.
Johnny Juzang knocked down a pair of free throws, and the Bruins moved on to face No. 5 seed Saint Mary's on Saturday.
Campbell finished with 16 points and Jaquez added 15. Jules Bernard, who hit a 3 to start UCLA's run when it trailed 47-39, added 10 points.
Xavier Castaneda led Akron with 18 points and Enrique Freeman added 14 before fouling out with 2:26 remaining on an illegal screen. Ali, the Zips' leading scorer, was held to five points after averaging nearly 15 per game.
A year after an unexpected run to the Final Four, the Bruins entered the tournament a trendy selection to make a run in the wide-open East. They nearly became another upset victim for Akron coach John Groce, who lost in the opening round of the tournament for the first time after going 3-0 in his previous NCAA trips as the coach at Ohio and Illinois.
The Zips had their chances, especially after building an eight-point lead. Castaneda connected on consecutive 3s after UCLA took a 39-38 lead, and Greg Tribble scored on a baseline reverse, falling down as he was fouled, to push the Zips' lead to 47-39 with 7:54 left.
But UCLA closed the game on an 18-6 run.
OFFICIAL HISTORY
Amy Bonner was one of three officials for the nightcap in Portland, becoming the second woman to officiate an NCAA Tournament game. Melanie Davis worked a game between Illinois and San Diego State in 2002.
Bonner has worked in several conferences and was hired to work in the Big 12 a couple of seasons ago.
CRONIN CONTRACT
Earlier Thursday, UCLA announced a new six-year contract for coach Mick Cronin that runs through the 2027-28 season. Cronin was hired in April 2019.
BIG PICTURE
Akron: The Zips entered having won eight straight, including a sweep of the MAC Tournament and a 75-55 rout of rival Kent State in the championship game. It was the fifth NCAA bid for the Zips and their first since 2013. They're still seeking their first win.
UCLA: The Bruins won despite a quiet night from Juzang, who finished with nine points on 3-of-11 shooting. It was the fourth time in six games Juzang failed to reach double figures.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will face the Gaels in the second round on Saturday.
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Min. Per Game | ||
Pts. Per Game | ||
Ast. Per Game | ||
Reb. Per Game | ||
Field Goal % | ||
Three Point % | ||
Free Throw % |
Bruins defensive rebound | 0:01 |
Ali Ali misses three point jump shot | 0:02 |
Zips 30 second timeout | 0:04 |
|
+ 1 | Johnny Juzang makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 0:04 |
|
+ 1 | Johnny Juzang makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 0:03 |
Xavier Castaneda personal foul (Johnny Juzang draws the foul) | 0:03 |
Johnny Juzang defensive rebound | 0:02 |
Cody Riley blocks Ali Ali's two point layup | 0:04 |
Greg Tribble defensive rebound | 0:13 |
Jaime Jaquez Jr. misses two point jump shot | 0:15 |
Bruins 30 second timeout | 0:25 |
Team Stats | ||
---|---|---|
Points | 53 | 57 |
Field Goals | 21-53 (39.6%) | 19-54 (35.2%) |
3-Pointers | 4-17 (23.5%) | 8-22 (36.4%) |
Free Throws | 7-8 (87.5%) | 11-13 (84.6%) |
Total Rebounds | 34 | 34 |
Offensive | 8 | 7 |
Defensive | 26 | 21 |
Team | 0 | 6 |
Assists | 4 | 14 |
Steals | 6 | 9 |
Blocks | 2 | 6 |
Turnovers | 10 | 7 |
Fouls | 15 | 11 |
Technicals | 0 | 0 |
Key Players | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
00
|
. Castaneda G | 13.6 PPG | 3.6 RPG | 2.3 APG | 40.7 FG% |
00
|
. Campbell G | 11.9 PPG | 2.5 RPG | 4.3 APG | 44.4 FG% |
Top Scorers | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
X. Castaneda G | 18 PTS | 6 REB | 1 AST | ||
T. Campbell G | 16 PTS | 1 REB | 5 AST |
Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
X. Castaneda | 18 | 6 | 1 | 8/17 | 2/7 | 0/0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
E. Freeman | 14 | 10 | 1 | 5/6 | 0/0 | 4/4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
A. Ali | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2/10 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
G. Tribble | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2/7 | 0/1 | 1/1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
M. Dawson | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1/4 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
X. Castaneda | 18 | 6 | 1 | 8/17 | 2/7 | 0/0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
E. Freeman | 14 | 10 | 1 | 5/6 | 0/0 | 4/4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
A. Ali | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2/10 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
G. Tribble | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2/7 | 0/1 | 1/1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
M. Dawson | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1/4 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
G. Clarke | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2/4 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
A. Bandaogo | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
M. Wynn | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/3 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
S. Kalle | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
K. Mitchell | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
P. Mayfield | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
N. Johnson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
E. Wilson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
B. Ford | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
B. Trimble Jr. | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 53 | 34 | 4 | 21/53 | 4/17 | 7/8 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 26 |
Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
T. Campbell | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6/12 | 3/6 | 1/1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
J. Jaquez Jr. | 15 | 9 | 6 | 3/10 | 1/4 | 8/9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
J. Bernard | 10 | 4 | 1 | 4/11 | 2/6 | 0/0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
J. Juzang | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3/11 | 1/4 | 2/2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
C. Riley | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
T. Campbell | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6/12 | 3/6 | 1/1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
J. Jaquez Jr. | 15 | 9 | 6 | 3/10 | 1/4 | 8/9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
J. Bernard | 10 | 4 | 1 | 4/11 | 2/6 | 0/0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
J. Juzang | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3/11 | 1/4 | 2/2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
C. Riley | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
P. Watson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2/3 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M. Johnson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
D. Singleton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
J. Clark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M. Etienne | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
W. McClendon | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
K. Nwuba | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
R. Stong | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
J. Kyman | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
L. Cremonesi | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 57 | 28 | 14 | 19/54 | 8/22 | 11/13 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 21 |