Freshman Will McClendon made the biggest splash of his UCLA career by hitting a late 3-pointer Thursday night, and the fourth-ranked Bruins turned up the defensive intensity to turn back upset-minded Stanford 73-64 in their Pac-12 matchup in Los Angeles.
Seeking a second consecutive upset after beating then-No. 4 Arizona in Stanford on Saturday, the Cardinal (11-15, 5-10 Pac-12) took a surprising 31-27 lead into halftime and then played the Bruins (22-4, 13-2) on near-even terms for the first 16 minutes of the second period.
But with his team clinging to a 60-59 lead, McClendon, who had totaled just 15 points previously this season and had been 1-for-14 from deep, stepped outside the Stanford defense for a crowd-thrilling 3-pointer with 3:42 remaining that ignited a 13-5 finish.
It was the Las Vegas native’s only basket of the game in four attempts, three coming from long range.
Stanford then missed its next two shots, and David Singleton padded UCLA’s lead with two free throws. When Tyger Campbell hit a jumper with 1:43 remaining, the Bruins had their first cushion of the night at 67-59.
The Cardinal went from the 5:02 mark to just 42 seconds remaining between points, with Harrison Ingram scoring both times. His three-point play got Stanford within 69-62, but Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. cemented UCLA’s fifth straight win with a pair of free throws apiece.
Hitting nine of his 11 foul shots, Jaquez finished with a game-high 26 points for the Bruins, who won despite shooting just 7-for-22 on 3-pointers. Jaylen Clark had two of the seven successes and finished with 16 points.
Jaquez also was the Bruins’ leading rebounder with nine.
Michael Jones had 15 points, Ingram 13 and Maxime Raynaud 12 for the Cardinal, who lost for just the third time in their last nine games. Raynaud completed the game’s only double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Ingram and Michael O’Connell shared game-high assist honors with five apiece for Stanford, which got to the free throw line just six times and was outscored 16-2 from the stripe.
–Field Level Media
