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UCLA Basketball: Jaylen Hands bRuins USC’s night with overtime win

By Mike Regalado

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 05: Jaylen Hands #4 of the UCLA Bruins passes the ball down the court against the California Golden Bears during the second half at Pauley Pavilion on January 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 05: Jaylen Hands #4 of the UCLA Bruins passes the ball down the court against the California Golden Bears during the second half at Pauley Pavilion on January 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) /
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Jaylen Hands once again turned things up a notch late in a game as he led the UCLA basketball team to a win over USC. The Bruins are now a half a game out of 4th place in the Pac-12 standings.

UCLA basketball‘s win over the USC Trojans was the sloppiest, most intense game the Bruins have played all season long… but none of that matters as the Bruins get a very important win.

Behind the leadership and mental fortitude of Jaylen Hands, UCLA was able to outlast the Trojans in overtime in a game that rivaled two pugilists exchanging hit after hit as both teams were at each other’s throats for the entirety of regulation.

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USC had jumped out to an early 16-6 lead as they looked like they were picking up right where they left off last month at the Galen Center. The Trojans were getting early baskets from a variety of players which included Bennie Boatwright who torched the Bruins from downtown hitting 7/17 three-pointers and finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds.

The collective efforts by the Trojans kept them in the game, but the Bruins were not easily swayed by their big shooting night.

Five Bruins scored in double-figures tonight, which almost included David Singleton who had 9 points on 3/4 shooting from the arc. Moses Brown collected yet another double-double as he put up 10 points and brought down 14 rebounds. Chris Smith also added to the point party as he had 13. Kris Wilkes and Jules Bernard (who came of the bench) both finished with 16 points.

Jaylen Hands was the player of the game despite serving a short punishment early into overtime. With 25 seconds left in regulation, Hands put up a very bad three-point attempt, which came off of a UCLA timeout. On the next possession, he sat out as USC had one last chance to score and get the game. Fortunately, Boatwright missed the three-point attempt which sent the game to overtime, giving the Bruins another chance to get the win. The interesting part was that Hands remained on the bench for the start of extra time, which appears to have been a decision made by interim head coach Murry Bartow.

The sophomore point guard eventually entered overtime and helped keep the Bruins in front of the Trojans. UCLA jumped out to an early lead but USC brought to within one as they were down 89-88. With UCLA taking possession of the ball, Hands hit the biggest shot of the night as he sunk a deep three-pointer with 23 seconds left, sealing the win. He finished with 21 points and 10 assists.

Though it was a bit painful at times, all of that frustration went away when the final buzzer sounded and UCLA came away with the win.

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Though the Bruins are still in fifth place in the Pac-12, they are a game up on USC and a half a game back from Utah who is currently in fourth place. The Bruins play both the Utes and the Colorado Buffaloes next week. If the Bruins can gain some ground in those games, that would potentially give them the fourth place spot in the standings and a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament.