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No. 11 UCLA pulls off late comeback to edge Wazzu

Dec 30, 2022; Pullman, Washington, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Tyger Campbell (10) shoots the ball against Washington State Cougars guard Kymany Houinsou (31) in the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

After trailing for more than 35 minutes, No. 11 UCLA rallied and got the winning basket from Adem Bona with 19 seconds left to beat Washington State 67-66 on Friday in Pullman, Wash.

UCLA (12-2, 3-0 Pac-12 Conference) scored the first five points but gave up a 12-2 Washington State run that put the Cougars ahead for the rest of the night — until the closing seconds.

The Bruins were down by nine with 7:23 to play after a 3-pointer by Washington State’s Justin Powell, UCLA chipped away at the deficit.

Shots started to fall, and a UCLA field-goal percentage that hovered around and just less than 30 percent much of the contest finished at 36.2 percent thanks to a 13-of-28 effort in the second half.

Bruins guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. was aggressive down the stretch, scoring eight of his game-high 20 points over the final 6:27, including a pair of free throws with 50 seconds to pull UCLA within a point.

On the ensuing Washington State possession, Tyger Campbell came away with a steal — one of his two and UCLA’s 10 overall for the game — to start a fastbreak. Bona’s layup attempt on the breakaway was interfered with, and the goaltending call gave the Bruins the go-ahead points.

UCLA swarmed the Cougars on the opposite end to deny a clean look at a shot, with Jaquez successfully contesting DJ Rodman’s 3-point attempt.

Rodman led Washington State (5-9, 0-3) with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. Mouhamed Gueye scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, while Jabe Mullins connected on 3 of 7 3-point attempts en route to 11 points.

Campbell finished with 16 points in UCLA’s ninth straight win. David Singleton scored 14 points, and Jaylen Clark added eight points, six rebounds and three steals.

Bona also made three steals to go with his seven points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Jaquez led UCLA with eight rebounds and shot 10 of 10 from the free-throw line, part of the Bruins’ 21-of-22 performance at the charity stripe.

–Field Level Media

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