Bruins edge Pepperdine in three overtimes
No. 22 UCLA needs 3 OTs to beat Pepperdine
SAN DIEGO — The UCLA Bruins have two days before their home opener to try to get their legs back under them after a physically taxing three-overtime thriller against Pepperdine.
Tyger Campbell and Jules Bernard hit 3-pointers early in the third overtime, and Chris Smith added a three-point play to finish with 26 points and lead No. 22 UCLA to a 107-98 victory Friday.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. played all 55 minutes while Campbell played 52 and Smith 51.
“There’s a lot of film that we’re going to show tomorrow as we take ice baths,” second-year coach Mick 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.
Senior guard Colbey Ross also played all 55 minutes and had 33 points to become Pepperdine’s alltime leading scorer but it wasn’t enough to keep the Waves (1-1)
from losing their sixth straight to UCLA and their 38th straight to a ranked opponent. 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.
Campbell and the Bruins (1-1) came out strong in the third extra period to avoid a second straight upset loss to open the season. Campbell hit a 3-pointer off the tip and Bernard scored from behind the arc to counter a layup by Ross and give UCLA a 95-91 lead.
Smith, who also had 12 rebounds, scored inside with 3:15 left, was fouled and converted for a 98-93 advantage.
“Three overtimes is definitely draining,” Smith said. “The cou
ple 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. Bernard had 21, Jaquez 16 and Cody Riley 13.
UCLA was routed 73-58 by San Diego State on Wednesday night in the four-team event at Viejas Arena.
Kessler Edwards scored points for Pepperdine while 17 Jan
points were one off her career high.
BIG PICTURE
The Titans return seven of their top nine scorers from last season’s team that went 17-14 and posted its first winning record since 1991. However, they’re looking for others to step up after Big West player of the year Raina Perez transferred to North Carolina State and senior Taylor Turney opted to sit out the season because of the coronavirus. The Bruins have just one more game before they jump into Pac-12 play with a pair of road games at the Arizona schools next week. In all, UCLA plays only three non-conference games this season.
DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERE
Artificial crowd noise was pumped into Pauley Pavilion via the overhead videoboard. The Bruins cheerleaders appeared in squares on the videoboard, calling out player names and chanting. There was a recorded version of band playing the UCLA fight song. Five rows of cardboard cutouts sat in the student section, with the largest one of mascot Joe Bruin raising his furry arms.
“We didn’t even really notice the crowd noise,” Osborne said. “We were really focused on the game plan and what we were supposed to do.”