UCLA Basketball: The Bruins Dominate USC 96-70 In The Pac-12 Tournament Quarterfinals

UCLA began their 2015 Pac-12 Tournament with a surprising matchup against the hated USC Trojans.

#12 seed USC accomplished a miracle yesterday by going on a 21-4 run to end the game to shock the #5 seed Arizona State 65-62. Could the Trojans pull off another upset against the Bruins to continue their run?

Nope!

The Bruins killed USC‘s confidence early on and seized control of the game early thanks to an offensive barrage in the opening half from the usual suspect in senior shooting guard Norman Powell, but also Isaac Hamilton, who exploded for 18 points in the first stanza.

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Hamilton‘s showing, along with contributions from the aforementioned Powell and big man Tony Parker on both ends of the court, gave UCLA a commanding 47-29 advantage at the break.

Allowing your opponents to shoot a tremendous 58% from the field for the half will do that to you, USC!

In the second half it was more of the same for UCLA.

Hamilton could not miss and he ended the game with a career-high 36 points on 13-17 shooting including a 7-9 mark from three. Powell and Parker finished with 14 points apiece and the Bruins buried the Trojans in Las Vegas 96-70.

March 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Julian Jacobs (12) shoots the basketball against UCLA Bruins forward Kevon Looney (5) during the first half in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, there is some bad news as UCLA looks ahead to Arizona.

Freshman forward Kevon Looney was taken to the hospital earlier in the game to be evaluated for a facial fracture. While there is no official word as of now, all indications are that Looney is questionable for tomorrow’s contest.

Best wishes to him and hopefully he will be healthy enough to play on Friday night.