SMITH, NO. 22 UCLA NEED THREE OTs
Tyger Campbell hunched over near midcourt in the final seconds, tugging on his shorts in a rare moment of rest. Jaime Jaquez Jr. walked over and slapped his teammate on the shoulder before they embraced in a weary hug.
After 55 minutes of game action, a slew of missed opportunities and several nearmisses, they could finally exhale Friday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
UCLA had prevailed in its longest game in 35 years, the No. 22 Bruins holding off Pepperdine for a 107-98 victory in triple overtime that served as a strong rebuttal to their season-opening dud two days earlier.
Jaquez played all 55 minutes and Campbell wasn’t far behind, logging nearly 52 minutes, as the absence of forward Jalen Hill because of injury and the spotty availability of forward Cody Riley because of foul trouble forced UCLA to rely heavily on a fiveguard lineup. Bruins guard Chris Smith also played 50 minutes as part of a sevenman rotation that coach Mick Cronin rode to his team’s first triumph of the season.
“I think Chris and Tyger are headed for the cold tub,” Cronin said after UCLA (1-1) completed its longest game since a four-OT loss to USC in February 1985. “I’m going to join them and put my head in after dealing with that.”
The small lineup eventually worked to the Bruins’ advantage as they made a barrage of three-pointers in the third overtime. Campbell and Jules Bernard each made one before Smith added an oldfashioned three-point play after getting fouled on a putback and making the free throw to give the Bruins a 9893 lead, providing the cushion they needed after having previously failed to put away the Waves (1-1).
UCLA’s defense faltered late in regulation, giving up a six-point lead in the final three minutes, as part of a comedy of errors in which Jaquez airballed a potential go-ahead jumper and Smith heaved a full-court pass out of bounds from along the baseline, giving the ball to Pepperdine underneath its own basket.
Jaquez’s struggles at the free-throw line in the first and second overtimes also extended the game. Jaquez made one of two attempts with 25 seconds left in the first overtime and UCLA ahead by a point, allowing Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross (33 points) to tie the score on a floater with six seconds left. Jaquez then made only one of four free throws in the final eight seconds of the second overtime
but partially absolved himself by fighting for the rebound on his second miss. He was fouled going up for a putback and made one of two free throws to tie the score and force a third overtime.
UCLA made 5 of 8 threepointers in the overtimes after having made only 5 of 26 in regulation. Cronin said most of those late attempts from long range were wide open as a result of identifying strategic mismatches that allowed his team to play inside-out.
The Bruins also mostly fixed their defense after allowing Pepperdine to score with ease in the first half in what amounted to a repeat of UCLA’s beatdown by San Diego State on Wednesday. All of
the Bruins’ five steals and three blocks against the Waves came after halftime.
The Bruins headed home tired but somewhat satisfied given the unusual circumstances. Cronin had scheduled these games because he wanted UCLA to be challenged early, to face two good local teams away from Pauley Pavilion in hopes of showing the ways it needed to improve.
The Bruins learned they have a long way to go but are willing to go a long way to get there.
“A lot of guys happy in the locker room,” Cronin said. “They fought out a win against a good team.”