There was no sign of a turkey hangover on Friday afternoon, at least not from a fatigue standpoint.
UCLA held off Pepperdine 107-98 in triple overtime at San Diego State’s Viejas Arena with an extraordinary effort from three Bruins who played more than 50 minutes in a short-rotation game for an already short-handed roster.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. played all 55 minutes, Tyger Campbell played 52 and Chris Smith logged 51 with the absence of starters Johnny Juzang and Jalen Hill for a second consecutive game.
UCLA found its 3-point shooting stroke in the overtime periods. The 22nd-ranked Bruins (1-1) were 5 for 8 from beyond the arc in the extra 15 minutes, compared to a 5-for-26 performance during regulation.
“I think as the game went on, we started shooting threes that were created from the inside out,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “I want to say seven of those eight (3-point attempts) were wide open.”
The biggest conversions from beyond the arc came from junior guard David Singleton, who knocked down early 3s in the first two overtimes from the same corner. Campbell and Jules Bernard made back-to-back 3s to start the final overtime period, which was followed by a three-point play from Smith. That created the cushion needed to outlast the Waves (1-1).
Smith finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds, a huge turnaround from Wednesday night’s lopsided loss to San Diego State when he scored just 10 points and fouled out.
Cronin said Smith’s turnaround was because of his rebounding performance compared to Smith’s zero-rebound outing against the Aztecs.
“When he rebounds and he defends, he’s a real player,” Cronin said of the Bruins’ lone senior.
Smith on his own contrast of games: “My mindset was the same, just make plays for myself or my teammates.”
Smith sounded willing to keep playing if that’s what it took.
“Three overtimes is definitely draining,” Smith said. “The couple times I went out, one time was because of foul trouble and the other time Coach told me as soon as I came out, to tell him when I was ready. Fifty minutes was what it took to get a win tonight, so if I have to play 50 minutes every single night, I’m going to do it as long as we come out with the win.”
Campbell scored 10 of his 22 points in the third overtime, seven of them in the last 1:40, and had seven assists (only one turnover). Jules Bernard scored a career-high 21, Jaquez Jr. added 16 points and 11 rebounds in his iron man performance and Cody Riley had 13 points.
Bernard’s jump shot has made him a greater threat offensively. Known for being a left-handed driver, his jump shot shined in spots on Friday. He was 7 for 15 from the field and 6 for 8 from the free-throw line.
“I’m definitely working on implementing my jump shot more,” Bernard said. “Especially if I want the driving lanes to open, I need to make more jump shots.”
Pepperdine point guard Colbey Ross also played all 55 minutes. He finished with 33 points in a record-breaking performance that made him the program’s all-time leading scorer. A Jaime Jaquez Jr. foul while Ross was attempting a 3-pointer, gave Ross the opportunity to enjoy the moment from the free-throw line. Ross passed Stacy Davis (1,786).
“Colbey Ross is as good as any point guard in college,” Cronin said. “If he was wearing a different uniform everyone would know about him.”
Ross hit a floater to send the game into a second overtime tied at 81 but missed a 3-pointer that forced a third OT.
“They’re hard to defend,” Cronin said. “Our first three halves this year, our defense wasn’t up to par and that’s on me. But we did what we had to do adjustment-wise at halftime and the guys stepped up their effort and energy.”
UCLA held Pepperdine to 30% shooting in the second half but couldn’t close out the Waves in the first 40 minutes.
“We just didn’t finish the game,” Cronin said. “We were playing small and we couldn’t get a rebound and they hit two 3s off second shots.”
Kessler Edwards added 17 points for Pepperdine, while Jan Zidek, whose father, George, was on UCLA’s 1995 national championship team, had 14. Jadé Smith scored 12 and Kene Chukwuka had 10.
The last time UCLA was in a triple-overtime game was in February of 1985 when USC beat UCLA at Pauley Pavilion 80-78. It took four overtimes.
UCLA’s home opener against Long Beach State is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.Juzang, a sophomore guard, has been ruled “week-to-week” with a stress reaction in his right foot. Hill, a 6-foot-10 junior forward/center, is “day-to-day” with right knee tendinitis. When Cronin was asked about the possible return of Juzang and Hill for Monday’s game, he said, “God, I hope so.”
REVIEW AND RECOVER
“There’s a lot of film that we’re going to show tomorrow as we take ice baths,” Cronin said. “I’m going to put my head in a bucket of ice and I’m going to have Tyger and those guys take cold tubs, Jaime and Chris, who played 50 minutes.”
Jaquez, a sophomore swingman who had a heads-up play to keep the Bruins alive in the second OT, was thinking the same thing.
“I know when I go back I’m probably going to take a nap, get a good night’s sleep, get in an ice bath and do whatever I’ve got to do to prepare for the next game we’ve got,” he said.
NOTES
Both teams had chances to win it in regulation after UCLA blew a six-point lead. With the score tied at 70, Jacquez missed a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left. After a review, the officials had the clock reset to 7.3 seconds. Pepperdine’s Darryl Polk Jr. turned the ball over under pressure from Riley, and UCLA then threw the ball out of bounds. Pepperdine’s Smith missed a tip-in at the buzzer. … Bernard and Riley fouled out for the Bruins, while the Waves lost Edwards, Smith and Chukwuka.
News services contributed to this story.
Support our UCLA athletics coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now.
Talk about grit! 😤@UCLAMBB took down Pepperdine in their first triple-OT game since 1985. pic.twitter.com/EqUZv8Q3RX
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) November 28, 2020
"triple" - Google News
November 28, 2020 at 07:35AM
https://ift.tt/3fLGW5g
Chris Smith, UCLA outlast Pepperdine in triple overtime - LA Daily News
"triple" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3dc0blF
https://ift.tt/2WoIFUS
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Chris Smith, UCLA outlast Pepperdine in triple overtime - LA Daily News"
Post a Comment