Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

A Late Surge By The UCLA Bruins Can’t Get Them Past Washington

By Mike Regalado

Jan 1, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford watches from the sidelines during the first half against the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford watches from the sidelines during the first half against the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The UCLA Bruins pushed the Washington Huskies to the end in a double overtime thriller, yet eventually lost to a Lorenzo Romar-led team for the first time in five games, 96-93.

The good news is that the UCLA Bruins eventually came to play. Bryce Alford hit two critical threes in the final minute of regulation and the first overtime to push extra time. Unfortunately, it was a too-little-too-late effort, by not just the third-year guard, but the entire team in a generally lackadaisical effort.

It was a sloppy first half by both teams as they were shooting less than 32%, splitting a total of 24 turnovers and combining for 28 personal fouls. At the half it was UCLA leading 33-28.

More from Go Joe Bruin

In the second half, Washington was the more composed team and jumped out to a lead powered by an 11-0 run which put them up 41-36. Andrew Andrews was a key factor for the Husky’s as he was owning the Bruins from all over the floor. He finished the night with 35 points and 6 rebounds.

The Bruins fought back with inconsistent, yet productive scoring surges. Thomas Welsh had picked up his third foul in the first half and his fourth early in the second half and had to sit both times. He still finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Tony Parker had stretches of dominance, but mixed that up with stretches of “dominated”. Still, the senior forward had 11 points and 9 rebounds. As stated above, Alford had some critical 3-pointers, but for the night he was 5-for-21, and yet, was nearly perfect from the free throw line going 17-for-18.

Next: The UCLA Basketball All-Time Team

The bottom line is that the Bruins did not come together in time to make a statement in this game. It was good to see the fight at the end, unfortunately they could not end the Huskies. UCLA is back in action Sunday at Washington State.