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No. 7 UCLA’s second-half charge dunks Colorado

Jan 14, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA;  Colorado Buffaloes guard Nique Clifford (32) dribbles the ball against UCLA Bruins guard Will McClendon (4) during the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Jaime Jaquez Jr. did it all with 23 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots and four steals to help No. 7 UCLA rally for a 68-54 victory over Colorado in Pac-12 play on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Jaylen Clark recorded 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals for UCLA (16-2, 7-0 Pac-12), which won its 13th consecutive game. The Bruins overcame a nine-point second-half deficit with a massive 17-0 run and outscored Colorado 30-5 over a stretch of nearly nine minutes.

Tyger Campbell added 11 points, Adem Bona had three blocked shots and David Singleton had three steals for UCLA.

KJ Simpson scored 17 points and Javon Ruffin added 11 for the Buffaloes (11-8, 3-5), who lost their second straight after winning seven of their previous eight contests. Tristan da Silva had 10 points and J’Vonne Hadley collected 10 rebounds and four steals.

UCLA shot 38.1 percent from the field, including 4 of 19 from 3-point range, while beating Colorado for the sixth time in the past seven meetings.

The Buffaloes connected on 30.6 percent of their shots and were 4 of 14 from behind the arc. Colorado committed 23 turnovers compared to 11 for the Bruins.

The Bruins were struggling badly before erupting with the game-changing 17-0 burst midway through the second half. Bona scored five straight points, Clark knocked down a 3-pointer and Singleton made two free throws as UCLA moved ahead 45-44 with 8:12 left in the contest.

Jaquez added a 3-pointer and Bona scored on the inside to make it a six-point advantage. Jaquez knocked down a jumper to make it 52-44 with 6:09 remaining to conclude the burst.

Colorado had a drought of 4:40 without a point end when Ruffin was fouled while shooting a three-pointer and made all three free throws with 5:41 to play.

Clark scored the next five points for UCLA and Campbell followed with a layup as the Bruins held a 59-47 lead with 3:47 remaining.

Jaquez hit a jumper to make it 65-49 with 1:11 left to end a 30-5 run.

Simpson scored on a dunk with 45 seconds left to end a string of 11 straight Colorado field-goal misses.

The Buffaloes led 31-28 at the break before starting the second half by scoring eight of the first 11 points. A three-point play by Lawson Lovering capped the run and gave the Buffaloes a 39-31 lead with 13:53 left.

A three-point play by Simpson made it 44-35 with 10:21 remaining before UCLA went on the big run.

–Field Level Media

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