The Stanford Cardinals haven’t won an away game against the Bruins since the ‘05-’06 season. A dominant second-half offensive performance ended the dreaded 15-year drought in a 74-59 win over UCLA.
“They’re just clearly a better basketball team than we are. It should prove to you guys that recruiting rankings are about as important as what’s in your garbage can, because I don’t know where there’s any of those guys. So, they clearly outclassed us,” said UCLA Head Coach Mick Cronin.
The 25th ranked team in the nation came out hot. Freshman forward Spencer Jones opened up the game with three straight three-pointers as the Cardinals raced out to a quick 9-1 lead over the Bruins.
UCLA showed poise in the first half by sticking with the first-place team in the Pac-12. Cardinals guard Tyrell Terry executed a steal and fastbreak dish to guard Bryce Willis as Stanford grabbed firm control of the game.
The Bruins fought back and took the lead 23-22 with a three-pointer from guard David Singleton who netted 11 points. Going into halftime down 2 points, 33-31 looked like an early victory with the Bruins in great position to pull off an upset win.
High energy first half at Pauley Pavilion. @StanfordMBB lead @UCLAMBB 33-31 at halftime. #UCLA‘s Jaime Jacquez and #Stanford‘s Spencer Jones are leading scorers w/ 9 points each. The Bruins have the #25 Cardinals in a dogfight here#Pac12Hoops
— Jonathan Bassey (@Jonathan_Bassey) January 16, 2020
UCLA guard Jaime Jacquez Jr led the way for the Bruins in the first half with 9 points and finished with a team-high 15 points which wasn’t enough to take down the Cardinals.
“We have to go back to practice. We have to take these losses and we take them to heart. We have another game. We still have to keep looking forward, but these losses – they’re getting tiring,” said Jacquez Jr.
Tyrell Terry proved too much of a force for the Bruins defense, torching all defenders for 18 second-half points and 24 total points.
When asked about what the key to victory was for the Cardinals Terry said, “For me, I would say tenacity. We just kept fighting. We really came out in the second half and just fought.”
“As the game goes on, our softness shows up,” said Cronin. “Our selfishness, at times, is evident. And it’s been, probably, to people that watched us all year, on the offensive end.”
With 12:06 left to play, Sophomore forward Lukas Kisunas helped slammed home an emphatic dunk putting Stanford out of striking distance and up by 10. UCLA would fail to recover from the deficit dropping their record to 8-9 on the season.
#25 @StanfordMBB defeat @UCLAMBB 74-59. A 2-point game at half turned into a blowout as the Cardinals outscored the Bruins 41-28 in the second half#UCLA #Stanford #Pac12Hoops
— Jonathan Bassey (@Jonathan_Bassey) January 16, 2020
“Some of the shots we take and the turnovers, because certain guys don’t want to pass the basketball, but our lack of toughness as the games go on, you play against really good teams. It becomes a test of wills,” said Cronin. “Who’s going to make mistakes? They do a good job of taking care of the ball and eventually we just break down, defensively.”
The Bruins will attempt to get back on track hosting the California Golden Bears at Pauley Pavilion Sunday January 19th.
