The UCLA Bruins were unable to deliver their first Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship since 2014.
LAS VEGAS — UCLA did everything right. Rotated, closed out, watched Arizona superstar Azoulas Tubelis miss an open 3-pointer, all while the Bruins held onto a one-point lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in the Pac-12 championship game.
Tubelis collected the rebound and split the free throws. Bruin guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. grabbed the rebound and found freshman Dylan Andrews open in the corner. But the potential game winner hit only the rim as Arizona held on, defeating UCLA 61-59 for the second straight year in the Pac-12 championship game.
It was manageable for UCLA when Arizona went with a four-guard lineup. But when the Wildcats deployed their two bigs, it left a Bruin guard to defend the Wildcats’ All-Pac-12 power forward, Tubelis. The freshman guard helped the Bruins overcome the Wildcats’ punishing basketball. Bailey slalomed through defenders to the rim, using a double-clutch move at the basket to give the fiesty Bruins a 34-33 lead at halftime.
But he made his last two shots of the first half, once driving past Tubelis and drawing a foul as he finished off the backboard. After bumping his head against the base of the basket, he completed the three-point play. UCLA’s trouble began as the Bruins’ were building up their lead. Nwuba drew his third foul in the first minute of the second half, and Etienne replaced him while playing with three himself. At the 12:31, Nwuba fouled Ballo on a layup and left the court again. Etienne picked up his fourth 30 seconds later, then his fifth with 9:35 to play.
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