Amari Bailey makes dynamic plays in UCLA’s win over Oregon
After cheering Ben Howland in his return to Pauley Pavilion and generating a murmur of indifference when UCLA’s Sun Bowl selection was announced, Bruins fans were getting restless Sunday afternoon.
Another taut game with Oregon was coming down to the final minutes and those fans needed a reason to unleash several years’ worth of frustration against the Ducks.
The decibel level rose as UCLA’s Amari Bailey sprinted down the court as part of a three-on-one fast break alongside Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. From midcourt, Campbell threw an outlet pass over the defender to Jaquez, whose midair touch pass to a trailing Bailey allowed the freshman guard to grab the ball and rise for a two-handed dunk that sent the 8,093 fans into a frenzy.
The roars intensified less than a minute later. Bailey, seemingly beaten by Oregon’s Brennan Rigsby, recovered in a flash to block Rigsby’s shot from behind.
The joint was jumping, the No. 21 Bruins were about to polish off a 65-56 victory and a nearly four-year run of dominance by the Ducks was about to end.
“I haven’t felt Pauley erupt like that,” Bailey said plainly after scoring all 14 of his points in the second half to help the Bruins wipe out a six-point halftime deficit and beat the Ducks for the first time since Feb. 23, 2019. “So it was pretty cool.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 points to help No. 21 UCLA open up Pac-12 play with an 80-66 win over Stanford on Thursday in Palo Alto.
Which of his highlight plays did Bailey prefer?
“Probably, the block,” he said. “For sure.”
UCLA guard Jaylen Clark scored 14 points in his best game since catching the flu a little more than a week ago and Jaquez shrugged off a foul-plagued first half to contribute 12 points and five rebounds.
A short memory was a necessity given the way UCLA (7-2, 2-0 Pac-12) played in the first half. Jaquez played only six minutes because he picked up two fouls, Campbell missed all eight of his shots and the Bruins missed all seven of their three-pointers.
The only highlight came when Howland, the coach who once guided the Bruins to three consecutive Final Fours, received a standing ovation as the honorary captain during a timeout. The defense-focused Howland would have appreciated the message Jaquez delivered in the locker room at halftime with his team trailing 27-21.
“He said, ‘We can’t worry about offense,’ ” UCLA coach Mick Cronin recalled. “ ‘We’re in the game still and we’ve only got 21 [points] because of our defense. We can’t stop defending.’ ”
Jaquez was heavily involved in his team’s strong start to the second half, taking a pass from Bailey while cutting to the basket for a layup before making a steal that led to a Bailey breakaway dunk. Campbell shook off his shooting slump, making two of three three-pointers as the Bruins raced to a 42-38 lead.
The Ducks wouldn’t fold. Continuing an annual trajectory of slow starts followed by an uncanny ability to round into form by New Year’s, Oregon (4-5, 1-1) appeared to have absorbed the Bruins’ best shot when the Ducks later completed a 9-0 push to build a 47-44 lead.
The Bruins would deliver the final blow, finishing the game on a 10-2 surge to give Cronin his first victory over Oregon at UCLA after dropping his first four games. The Ducks were the only Pac-12 team he had not defeated since taking the job in April 2019.
Fans provided an upbeat soundtrack, chanting “U-C-L-A!” in the moments before Jaquez buried a jumper to give the Bruins a 61-54 lead and essentially seal his first victory over the Ducks with a little more than two minutes left.
“It means a lot,” Jaquez said. “It’s great to be able to be in this atmosphere. We had a great turnout.”
Those fans celebrated the Bruins forcing 15 turnovers and outshooting the Ducks, 51.6% to 46.2%, in the second half. They especially savored the game-ending sequence involving the freshman who might not stick around to become a sophomore given his ability to change a game on both ends of the court.
“Some guys would just let him dunk it, but he was like, ‘I wanna challenge it,’ ” Clark said of Bailey’s block. “That’s just him and that’s why he’s gonna be outta here pretty soon.”
Go beyond the scoreboard
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