LOS ANGELES — The madness continues, or maybe, it’s just starting all over again in November.
Everything a basketball fan would want in a top-five matchup was on display Friday night. A raucous, sell-out crowd draped in white, a national television audience and the drama of overtime as second-ranked UCLA edged fourth-ranked Villanova, 86-77, at Pauley Pavilion.
A Jules Bernard floater in the lane tied the score at 67-67 with 25 seconds left in regulation. Then Jaylen Clark delivered stellar defense to make Villanova’s Justin Moore miss at the rim with 0.2 seconds left. Clark also grabbed the defensive rebound as the regulation buzzer sounded.
It was all UCLA (2-0) in overtime. After a pair of Villanova (1-1) free throws, the Bruins scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer from Jaime Jaquez Jr. to take a 74-69 lead in the extra frame. After getting to the free-throw line just seven times in regulation, the Bruins made all 12 of their free throws in the five-minute extra session to help seal the win.
Johnny Juzang led all scorers with 25 points on 9-for-24 shooting. Jaquez had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Bernard had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tyger Campbell added 14 points for UCLA.
UCLA finished 9 for 24 from 3-point range and 17 for 19 from the free-throw line.
After a media timeout, Villanova’s Caleb Daniels had a two-handed dunk off of an out-of-bounds play that impressed the crowd, but the oohs and aahs from the smattering of Villanova fans didn’t last long. David Singleton hit a 3-pointer to one-up Daniels’ dunk, then hit another on the next possession to force Villanova coach Jay Wright to call a timeout as UCLA took a 17-8 lead at the 10:36 mark in the first half.
Singleton’s back-to-back 3s were the highlight of a stretch that saw the Bruins make seven consecutive shots, a spurt that helped them open a 23-14 lead after a Jaquez jump shot.
But Villanova got a spark of its own from guards Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels, each making two 3-pointers during a 10-0 Wildcats run for their first lead of the game, 24-23. UCLA committed five of its seven first-half turnovers in the final 6:28, three coming from Juzang.
Juzang redeemed himself quickly by scoring the final five points of the half, including a two-dribble, pull-up jumper from the elbow to beat the halftime buzzer and give the Bruins a 32-30 lead at the break. But he didn’t stop there.
The junior showed why he was named to last year’s All-NCAA Tournament team when he reeled off five consecutive baskets to start the second half. He made seven in a row, including the first half. It was reminiscent of the scoring runs Juzang had last March, but Villanova was not mesmerized the same way college basketball fans were.
The Wildcats started the second half 4 for 5 from the 3-point line and made 11 of their first 17 shot attempts to take their largest lead of the game, 60-50, at the 9:24 mark. There was a stretch when Villanova made 10 of 13 shots. No matter what UCLA did offensively, the Bruins couldn’t seem to slow the Wildcats.
Campbell made back-to-back 3-pointers at one point, but Villanova’s Jermaine Samuels came down and made one, too. UCLA trailed 63-57 with 5:20 left.
The Wildcats shot 6 of 10 from behind the arc in the second half, and 10 for 20 in regulation.
Samuels led the Wildcats with 20 points. Gillespie finished with 18. The two combined for nine of the team’s 11 3-pointers.
NOTES
The game was the earliest matchup by date between AP top-five teams at a campus site in the history of the poll that began in 1948-49, according to ESPN Stats & Info. It also was the first non-conference matchup between two top-five teams in Pauley Pavilion since March 1, 1992, when then-No. 4 UCLA lost to top-ranked Duke.
UP NEXT
UCLA hosts Long Beach State on Monday night in the third of four straight home games.
More to come on this story.
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxnnqR6c3nUnKOaZaKWua21xKxkraddl7KiwIynpmZsXau2rbjAp6avmV2eu2671Z6praGdmnw%3D