UCLA escapes crosstown matchup with 60-58 win over USC

UCLA Bruins #10 Tyger Campbell (G) jump shot is being challenged by USC Trojans #2 Dixon-Waters- Reese (G) at Pauley Pavilion. (Photo by Javier Rojas/PI).

WESTWOOD, CA – The UCLA Bruins (14-2) on Thursday night blew an 18-point halftime lead down the stretch against their crosstown rival USC Trojans (11-5) but held on to win 60-58 thanks to a clutch game-winning three-pointer by Jaylen Clark.

Turnovers, bad shot selection, and missed free throws all factored into the second-half collapse by UCLA. As a team, the Bruins shot 64% from the free throw line including missing four of their final five in the closing minutes.

Clark led UCLA in scoring with 15 points, followed by David Singleton and Jaime Jaquez Jr., each with 12 points.

Dixon-Water-Reese led the Trojans in scoring with 16 points, followed by Boogie Ellis with 10 points, Drew Peterson with 9 points, and Kobe Johnson.
 
Despite the win Bruins head coach Mick Cronin was not happy with his team’s performance tonight.

“You’ve got guys playing selfishly, not worried about defense, taking bad shots, letting a team back in the game,” said Cronin. “You can grow from it, you can grow to the bench!”

Reese Dixon-Waters led USC in scoring with 16 points off the bench. Boogie Ellis chipped in ten points.

UCLA center Adem Bona gave the Bruins an early spark on both sides of the ball with a huge rejection at the rim of USC guard Kobe Johnson. Bona followed up seconds later with a monster dunk in transition to give the Bruins a 5-2 lead.

The Bruins went up 10-4 after a three-pointer by Singleton, one of the best three-point specialists in the Pac-12 who’s shooting over 50% from downtown.

The Trojans found themselves down 18-4 after a three-pointer by Bruin guard Dylan Andrews midway through the first half.

Tyger Cambell knocked down a wide-open three to give the Bruins a 44-26 lead going into the half.

USC struck first in the second half with a Drew Peterson jumper that cut the lead to 44-28. That was the beginning of a 17-5 run by the Trojans to open up the second half.

Harrison Hornery later hit a deep 26-foot three-pointer practically from Hollywood, capping off an 11-0 Trojan run. That cut the lead to 50-45 midway through the second half.

Following two missed UCLA free throws from Jacquez Jr., Trojan guard Dixon-Waters nailed a jump shot to cut the lead to 53-51 with four minutes remaining in the game.

Dixon-Waters clutch heroics continued with a hook shot that gave the Trojans the lead 58-56 with 32 seconds left. It was the Trojans’ first lead since the opening seconds of the game. USC would lead for only 43 seconds in the entire game.

Faced with a collapse of epic proportions Clark channeled his inner-Russell Westbrook; who was seated courtside, and nailed a three-pointer with 15 seconds left giving the Bruins the go-ahead basket.

“I knew it was going in, in my head before I even caught it,” said Clark.

Down 60-58 with six seconds left Ellis drove down the court but missed a heavily contested fade-away shot from 12 feet that would have forced overtime.

“We don’t take moral victories by losing,” said Trojans head coach Andy Enfield.

While the Bruins will take the victory extending their win streak to 11 games, neither team was truly happy with how the game unfolded.

“We put ourselves in a sticky situation, we lucked out and got out of here with a win, but it was not a performance to be proud of,” said Clark.

The Bruins have a week off before their showdown at Pauley Pavilion against the Utah Utes (12-4) for first place in the Pac-12 standings. Both teams are currently 5-0. USC will face off against Colorado (10-6) at the Galen Center next Thursday.