Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
UCLA sweats out injury scare in victory
Bruins withstand second-half push by Northwestern
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The best news for UCLA came after the seventh-ranked Bruins finished their second-round NCAA Tournament win Saturday.
Key guard David Singleton didn’t break his ankle when he went down with an injury late in second-seeded UCLA’S 69-63 victory over seventh-seeded Northwestern, giving the Bruins hope that he might return Thursday when they play in the Sweet 16 at T-mobile Arena.
“I knew it wasn’t that bad,” said Singleton, who was on the court in pain for a few minutes before being helped to the locker room. “I broke my foot before. I didn’t feel it pop or anything. It was just hurting at the moment. I’m fine. I’m just going to get with my trainer.”
Coach Mick Cronin said the injury conjured bad memories from two decades ago when he was an assistant at Cincinnati and star Kenyon Martin broke his leg right before the tournament.
Now he hopes to get Singleton back to a thin lineup already missing injured defensive stopper Jaylen Clark.
“I was having flashbacks to when I had a full head of hair in the spring of 2000 running out there and Kenyon Martin was playing there,” Cronin said. “Looks like (Singleton has) got a bad sprain. … I’m just happy he didn’t break his ankle. It’s been crazy for us here lately.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 24 points for UCLA (31-5), which withstood a second-half push from the Wildcats (22-12).
The Bruins turned up their defensive intensity late, holding Northwestern to 1-for-12 shooting during a key stretch.
“We started getting up, switching up into them, bringing up the pressure again like in the first half,” Jaquez said. “I think we shied away from it (early) in the second half with just light switching. I think we picked it up a lot more.”
UCLA made it to a third straight Sweet 16 for the first time in 15 years. The Bruins next will play the winner of Sunday’s game between No. 9-ranked Gonzaga (29-5) and No. 22 Texas Christian (22-12) in a West Region semifinal.
Amari Bailey added 14 points and Tyger Campbell 12 for UCLA.
Boo Buie scored 18 points, Matthew Nicholson 17 and Chase Audige 16 for Northwestern, with all of Audige’s coming in the second half.
“I wasn’t surprised the way we played in the second half because that’s what these guys have been, that’s what our team has been all year long,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said. “We have a fighter’s spirit. … I could not have been prouder of my guys.”
Northwestern’s second trip to the tournament ended in the same fashion as the first six years ago, with a second-round loss.
The key moment came in the final two minutes when Adem Bona blocked a drive by Audige, sending UCLA out in transition. Singleton hit a 3-pointer that put the Bruins up 62-56 with 1:50 left.
UCLA controlled the game early and built the big lead by neutralizing Northwestern’s high-scoring backcourt of Buie and Audige and getting Jaquez out in transition.
Buie made his first basket of the game with a drive just before the halftime buzzer to cut UCLA’S lead to 35-25.
South
■ No. 1 Alabama 73, Maryland 51: At Birmingham, Ala., Jahvon Quinerly scored 22 points and Brandon Miller 19 for the top-seeded Crimson Tide (31-5), who held a 45-28 second-half scoring edge and advanced to their second Sweet 16 in the past three tournaments and ninth overall. They next face fifth-seeded and 18th-ranked San Diego State (29-6) in a region semifinal Friday in Louisville, Kentucky.
Julian Reese scored 14 points before fouling out for the eighth-seeded Terrapins (22-13), who shot 35.2 percent while missing 7 of 8 3-point tries. They also missed 9 of 21 free throws and were outrebounded 44-32.