The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team hosted the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Intersport West Coast Hoops Showdown in Inglewood, CA at the Intuit Dome. The Bruins held off Gonzaga in a close game 65-62. Both teams started off slow in the first few minutes of the first half, missing contested shots and struggling to put points on the board. Despite both teams managing to score early, the Bruins went on a run around the six-minute mark leading by 11 points.
A critical moment in the first half was when Bulldogs senior guard Khalif Battle got charged with a Flagrant two foul and was ejected from the game at the four-minute mark. The Bulldogs did not let the absence of Battle disrupt their flow as they finished the half on a 9-0 run.
Gonzaga Senior forward Graham Ike scored a buzzer-beater jumper to close the lead to two, 27-25.
Gonzaga struggled in the first half, shooting 41 percent from the field and just 18 percent from three-point range. However, the Bulldogs found their rhythm in the second half, improving to 50 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc.
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UCLA also turned things around after a rough first half, where they shot 29 percent from the field but managed 42 percent from three-point range. In the second half, they improved to 46 percent from the field and an impressive 58 percent from beyond the arc.
The second half became an exciting battle as both teams elevated their play. The Bulldogs and Bruins traded baskets and got stops when they were most important.
UCLA senior guard Kobe Johnson was a key factor during the second half, knocking down multiple three-point shots to put his team on an 8-0 run. Johnson finished with 12 points and shot 4-6 from the three-point line.
The competitive non-conference matchup marked three lead changes and eight ties, majority of the shifts occurring in the second half. Bruin sophomore guard Sebastian Mack scored a three-point play to give UCLA the lead 61-60 lead with 33 seconds left and junior guard Skyy Clark knocked down a pair of free throws at the end.
Gonzaga had two opportunities to send the game to overtime with senior guard Ryan Nembhard failing to complete a three-point play opportunity with 8.1 seconds left and sophomore Dusty Stromer missing a three-point shot.
Bruins Head Coach Mick Cronin is proud of how his team performed against a physical Gonzaga team, but feels there is always room for improvement.
“You gotta be mature enough to realize, even if you win, you gotta get better,” Cronin said. “I think our next game is in Nebraska, I think it’s been two years since they lost at home. It’s not gonna stop, so you know just got to use all these things as a chance to be better.”
Cronin also mentioned his team’s goal of making it to the NCAA March Madness Tournament.
“You gotta get in the tournament, obviously for us you wanna try to stay on the West Coast since we already play in a East Coast league and try to win the tournament. That’s the life at UCLA. That’s why I came to UCLA” Cronin commented.
UCLA will play against Michigan on Tuesday, January 7, at 7:00 P.M. in Pauley Pavilion.
