Arizona Wildcats Crown Pac-12 Champions after beating UCLA Bruins 84-76
LAS VEGAS, NV - #1 seeded Arizona Wildcats took on the #2 seeded UCLA Bruins and battled to the end in the Pac-12 Championship Game, and when the dust settled, the Wildcats won 84-76 to capture the title.
Bennedict Mathurin led Arizona in scoring with 27-points, Dalen Terry with 15-points, and Christian Koloko with 13-points.
Jules Benard was the leading scorer for UCLA with 19-points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. with 18-points, followed by Johnny Juzang with 16-points, and Tyger Campbell with 14-points.
Tautvilas Tubeilis gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead to start the game. Johhny Juzang tied the game 2-2 with his jump shot.
Arizona led 6-2 with a jump shot by Christan Koloko. The Wildcats led 10-4 with a jump shot in the paint by Justin Kier. Tyger Campbell broke free for a layup and was fouled on the play, making his free throw that made the score 10-7.
Campbell's jump shot had UCLA trailing by one point 10-9 with 13:54 left in the first half. Dalen Terry made one free throw making the score 11-9. Kier gave the Wildcats a 13-9 lead.
Jules Bernard's three-point shot had the Bruins down 13-13. Juzang's jumper at the top of the key gave UCLA the lead 14-13. Cody Riley made a jump shot tying the game 16-16 with 10:39 left in the first half.
Arizona led 17-16 with a free throw by Pelle Parson. Bernard gave the lead back to the Bruins 18-17 with his jump shot.
The Wildcats regained the lead 20-18 with a jump shot by Adama Bal. Campbell would tie the game 20-20 with his jump shot.
Arizona took a one-point lead, 21-20, with a free throw by Tubelis. Bernard made a jump shot that had the Bruins leading 24-21. Bal tied the game 24-24 with a deep three-point shot.
Cambell would make a layup to give UCLA a 26-24 lead with 4:39 left before halftime. Jaquez Jr.'s fall-away jump shot in the paint made the score 28-24.
UCLA led 31-28 with two free throws by Jaquez Jr. The Bruins led 34-28 with a three-point play by Jaquez Jr. Arizona was trailing 34-31 with a three-point play by Mathurin.
Bennedict Mathurin would make two free throws that had the Wildcats down 34-33. Kenneth Nwuba would make one free throw to give UCLA a 35-33 with 1:33 left on the clock.
Jalen Clark from UCLA's put-back basket made the score 37-33. UCLA led at halftime by five points 40-35 with a three-pointer by Juzang at the end of the half.
Juzang led UCLA in scoring in the first half with 11-points, Campbell 9-points, Bernard 8-points, and Bernard 8-points.
Mathurin was the leading scorer for Arizona with 9-points, and Bal and Koloko, both with 6-points. UCLA had only three turnovers in the first half and Arizona had nine turnovers.
UCLA led in the second half 53-41 with a three-pointer by Jaquez Jr. Arizona trailed 53-46 with a jump shot by Dalen Terry. Mathurin's three-pointer made the score 53-49.
Clark's layup had the Bruins up 55-49. Ballo made two free throws that had the Wildcats down 55-51. Mathurin's layup had Arizona down 55-53. Arizona took the lead 56-55 with a three-point play by Koloko with 11:42 left in the game.
Bernard's three-pointer gave UCLA a 58-56 lead. Arizona would go up by three points, 61-58, with a dunk by Koloko forcing UCLA to take a timeout with 9:01 left in the game.
Larrson's back-door layup had Arizona leading 63-58. Bernard made two free throws that made the score 63-60. Benards' layup had the Bruins down by one point, 63-62. Mathurin's two free throws made the score 65-62
Terry would knock down a three to give Arizona a 68-62 lead with 6:47 left in the game. Terry gave the Wildcats a 70-64 lead with a monster dunk.
Tubelis's dunk gave the Wildcats a 78-70 lead with 3:01. Jaquez Jr. would make a layup that had UCLA trailing by six points, 78-72.
Jaquez Jr. would fall-away jump shot made the score 78-74. The Wildcats pushed their lead up to 80-76 with a dunk by Koloko.
Mathurin would make one free throw that gave Arizona an 81-76 lead. Arizona beat UCLA 84-76 to take home the Pac-12 Tournament Championship Title