UCLA Basketball vs Arizona: Deandre Ayton beats Bruins in OT
The UCLA basketball team gets the semifinal exit as Arizona’s Deandre Ayton comes alive in overtime to propel the Wildcats past the Bruins and into the Pac-12 Championship Game.
It was one of the most exciting games of the season as the UCLA basketball team took Arizona to overtime in the Pac-12 semis. The only problem is that the beautiful back-and-forth that Pac-12 basketball fans were treated for 40 minutes came to a halt in overtime as Arizona’s Deandre Ayton scored the first five points of Arizona’s 11 in OT.
UCLA was unable to score a single point.
What was a battle, quickly became a one-sided affair in favor of the Wildcats. UCLA was simply gassed as they could not get a point in seven OT possessions. Though they were tired, it did not make a lot of sense to continually go for the outside shot.
The Bruins took seven total shots in the extra time, six from behind the arc and only one in the paint. Despite missing shots, it also did not help that the other team’s superstar made everything he put up. To add insult to injury, Ayton finished with a career-high 32 points.
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It was unfortunate because UCLA played a solid game. They had a rough start to the second half, but managed to stay with Arizona the entire contest. The Bruins even had control of the game in the first few minutes. UCLA had jumped out to a 15-8 lead and stayed in front for most of the first half.
Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh had once again led the charge for the Bruins. Despite a bad shooting night (5/12), Holiday managed to get 15 points. The point guard was not himself for most of game and was clearly running out of energy towards the end of the game, of which he played 45 minutes.
Welsh had a monstrous night with 17 points and 17 rebounds and came up big in the second half. Arizona had taken the early lead after the break, but Welsh kept the Bruins in the game with 8 consecutive points, hitting two three-pointers in the process. Welsh was 7/13 from the floor and 3/6 from behind the arc.
The Bruins kept it close in the second half and hit the gas pedal in the last ten minutes as both teams alternated leads. Kris Wilkes, Jaylen Hands and Gyorgy Goloman made some key shots in that stretch which were vital to the Bruins’ survival. Though it was a valiant effort, it all went out the T-Mobile Arena window with the 0 point overtime performance.
So that happened.
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UCLA now awaits their fate to see if they will continue on in the post-season. On Selection Sunday we find out if the Bruins have enough on their resume to get them into the NCAA Tournament. With the statement win over Stanford yesterday and going into OT with Arizona, UCLA might have given themselves the boost they need to get the invitation to the Big Dance. It is just unfortunate they can’t continue on in the Pac-12 Tournament.