AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer
No. 4 UCLA is on to the men’s Sweet 16 for the second year in a row after a 72-56 win over No. 5 Saint Mary’s.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 15 points before coming out because of an ankle injury, while the entire offense remained efficient with a 56.5 shooting percentage in Saturday’s second-round matchup at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. UCLA led by seven at halftime and never trailed in the second half on the way to a convincing win.
After reaching the Final Four a year ago, the Bruins are in good shape for a return with each of the top two seeds already eliminated in the East Region.
UCLA will try to keep it going against North Carolina, the East Region’s No. 8 seed that upset No. 1 Baylor on Saturday.
Saint Mary’s was seeking its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2010, but the impressive season has come to an end despite 18 points from Logan Johnson.
Notable Performances
Jaime Jaquez Jr., F, UCLA: 15 points, 6-11 shooting
Tyger Campbell, G, UCLA: 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Johnny Juzang, G, UCLA: 14 points, 8 rebounds
Matthias Tass, F, SMC: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Logan Johnson, G, SMC: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Tommy Kuhse, G, SMC: 11 points, 6 assists
Balanced Offensive Attack Helps UCLA Survive and Advance
Jaime Jaquez entered Saturday as one of the hottest players in the country, averaging 22 points over his last six games. The forward kept it up with a dominant opening half, scoring 15 before intermission to keep the Bruins in front.
UCLA still needed more offensively, with leading scorer Johnny Juzang struggling to hit anything.
The preseason All-American was a major reason the Bruins reached the Final Four last year, averaging 22.8 points across six NCAA tournament games. Juzang looked off as of late, however, scoring just nine points in Round 1 before a quiet start in Round 2.
He finally found his stroke in the second half, finishing with a respectable 14 points in the win.
Nik Streng @NikStreng
And there’s another from Johnny Juzang. He’s got 10 points now and the Bruins now have 4 players in double figures. <br><br>The Gaels are going to need a lot of help if there’s this many UCLA players cooking <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MarchMadness</a>
Tyger Campbell and Jules Bernard also came through with some big shots throughout the game.
The depth became even more important when Jaquez suffered an ankle injury late in the second half.
Jaquez’s health becomes a major story going forward for UCLA, but the remaining players were enough to win this round. They will be even more important in later rounds as Juzang, Bernard and Tyger Campbell try to pick up the slack.
Saint Mary’s Unable to Solve Bruins Defense
Saint Mary’s appeared confident out of the gates with a 20-13 lead about 10 minutes into the game, but the team learned scoring would not be easy against the Pac-12 squad.
The Bruins flexed their defensive muscle to go up 36-29 by halftime.
Outside shooting was a saving grace early for the Gaels, but the shots stopped falling on the way to finishing 7-of-21 from three-point range.
The Gaels passed the ball well yet still found few easy looks at the net and finished with their lowest scoring output since a January loss to BYU.
UCLA especially picked up the intensity down the stretch, pulling away after Saint Mary’s cut the margin to seven. It was enough to earn an impressive win over a quality opponent.
Saint Mary’s pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when it beat Gonzaga, but it hadn’t seen many opponents with the size and athleticism of UCLA. This was the difference as the Gaels saw their season come to an end.
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