mar 3, 2018 | UCLA MEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE |
POST LINK
LOS ANGELES – Aaron Holiday scored a career-high 34 points and Kris Wilkes added a career-best 22 points as UCLA defeated USC, 83-72, at the Galen Center on Saturday night.
UCLA (20-10, 11-7) secured the No. 4 seed in next week's conference tournament. With the win on Saturday, the Bruins swept the regular-season series against USC (21-10, 12-6) before a crowd of 10,258 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Bruins earned a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament and will face either Stanford or California in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon (2:30 p.m., PT).
Holiday was electric for the Bruins on Saturday evening, hitting 11 of 16 shots while draining a career-high six three-pointers (on nine attempts). He also registered seven assists, five rebounds and one blocked shot. Holiday scored 20 of his career-best 34 points in the second half.
Holiday and Wilkes were the only two Bruins to score in double figures. Thomas Welsh finished with seven points and nine rebounds, while G.G. Goloman registered five points and a career-best nine boards.
UCLA trailed throughout the first half and entered the locker room at halftime trailing USC by a 43-40 margin.
In the second half, UCLA trailed by as many as eight points – 56-48 – with 15:04 to play and then by six points – 60-54 – with 12:04 remaining. A jump shot from Holiday and a dunk from Chris Smith cut the Trojans' advantage to 60-58 before Holiday cut to the basket for a layup at the 9:06 mark, tying the contest.
After a free throw shot by USC's Derryck Thornton, UCLA used a 7-0 scoring run to secure a 67-61 cushion and never looked back. From that point, the Bruins' cushion never fell to any fewer than four points.
A three-pointer by Holiday with 3:33 to play pushed the Bruins' lead up to seven points (77-70). After a missed jump shot by USC's Elijah Stewart, Holiday had the answer for UCLA with a layup at the 2:56 mark.
UCLA earned its first win at USC's Galen Center since 2015 and improved its record in the Trojans' home arena to 8-4 (since the building opened prior to the 2006-07 season).
USC's Jordan McLaughlin scored a team-leading 19 points and had four assists, while Chimezie Metu finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
The Pac-12 Tournament will begin with four first-round games on Wednesday, March 7. For the second consecutive season, the Pac-12 Tournament will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The complete Pac-12 Tournament bracket is available online by clicking here.
Game Notes: UCLA freshman Jaylen Hands did not play on Saturday night due to a sprained right ankle, sustained in practice on Thursday ... Hands is currently day-to-day ... senior Alec Wulff played a career-high six minutes in the first half, connecting on a three-pointer with 7:05 to play before halftime that reduced USC's lead to 30-26 ... senior Thomas Welsh totaled nine rebounds, moving into a tie for fifth place on UCLA's all-time rebounds list (992, tied with Don MacLean) ... Aaron Holiday will enter the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament as the league's leading scorer, at 20.1 points per game ... no UCLA player has averaged at least 20 points per game during a full season since Ed O'Bannon as a senior in 1994-95 (20.4 ppg).
UCLA (20-10, 11-7) secured the No. 4 seed in next week's conference tournament. With the win on Saturday, the Bruins swept the regular-season series against USC (21-10, 12-6) before a crowd of 10,258 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Bruins earned a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament and will face either Stanford or California in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon (2:30 p.m., PT).
Holiday was electric for the Bruins on Saturday evening, hitting 11 of 16 shots while draining a career-high six three-pointers (on nine attempts). He also registered seven assists, five rebounds and one blocked shot. Holiday scored 20 of his career-best 34 points in the second half.
Holiday and Wilkes were the only two Bruins to score in double figures. Thomas Welsh finished with seven points and nine rebounds, while G.G. Goloman registered five points and a career-best nine boards.
UCLA trailed throughout the first half and entered the locker room at halftime trailing USC by a 43-40 margin.
In the second half, UCLA trailed by as many as eight points – 56-48 – with 15:04 to play and then by six points – 60-54 – with 12:04 remaining. A jump shot from Holiday and a dunk from Chris Smith cut the Trojans' advantage to 60-58 before Holiday cut to the basket for a layup at the 9:06 mark, tying the contest.
After a free throw shot by USC's Derryck Thornton, UCLA used a 7-0 scoring run to secure a 67-61 cushion and never looked back. From that point, the Bruins' cushion never fell to any fewer than four points.
A three-pointer by Holiday with 3:33 to play pushed the Bruins' lead up to seven points (77-70). After a missed jump shot by USC's Elijah Stewart, Holiday had the answer for UCLA with a layup at the 2:56 mark.
UCLA earned its first win at USC's Galen Center since 2015 and improved its record in the Trojans' home arena to 8-4 (since the building opened prior to the 2006-07 season).
USC's Jordan McLaughlin scored a team-leading 19 points and had four assists, while Chimezie Metu finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
The Pac-12 Tournament will begin with four first-round games on Wednesday, March 7. For the second consecutive season, the Pac-12 Tournament will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The complete Pac-12 Tournament bracket is available online by clicking here.
Game Notes: UCLA freshman Jaylen Hands did not play on Saturday night due to a sprained right ankle, sustained in practice on Thursday ... Hands is currently day-to-day ... senior Alec Wulff played a career-high six minutes in the first half, connecting on a three-pointer with 7:05 to play before halftime that reduced USC's lead to 30-26 ... senior Thomas Welsh totaled nine rebounds, moving into a tie for fifth place on UCLA's all-time rebounds list (992, tied with Don MacLean) ... Aaron Holiday will enter the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament as the league's leading scorer, at 20.1 points per game ... no UCLA player has averaged at least 20 points per game during a full season since Ed O'Bannon as a senior in 1994-95 (20.4 ppg).
The Box
No comments:
Post a Comment