It was all about the comebacks in a comfortable win.
UCLA’s Cody Riley and Jaime Jaquez Jr., both sidelined by injuries recently, provided the lift the Bruins needed on a night when point guard Tyger Campbell did the rest.
In only his second game back since missing nearly two months because of a knee injury, Riley logged four steals and forced another California turnover after the Golden Bears threatened to create late drama Saturday at Haas Pavilion.
Jaquez, who sat out the second half of UCLA’s game against Long Beach State on Thursday with a sprained right ankle, made his usual array of tough shots on the way to 14 points.
Campbell orchestrated it all, helping the No. 5 Bruins pull away for a 60-52 victory in their first Pac-12 game in more than a month after a lengthy COVID-19 pause.
Campbell tallied 17 points, four assists and three steals to help the Bruins (10-1, 2-0 Pac-12) withstand Cal forward Andre Kelly’s 22 points and win their ninth consecutive game against the Golden Bears (9-7, 2-3).
The Bruins won despite off shooting nights from Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard, who combined to make three of 16 shots.
Riley sparked a 7-0 surge for the Bruins early in the second half when he buried a jumper and came up with a steal before leading the break and drawing a hard foul on a drive toward the basket.
UCLA guard Jules Bernard drives to the basket between California guard Jordan Shepherd and forward Lars Thiemann during the first half.
(Jed Jacobsohn / Associated Press)
By the time Jaquez got clobbered fighting through two defenders and made both free throws, the Bruins held a 40-31 lead and there were murmurs of unease in the crowd.
Riley finished with nine points and five rebounds in addition to nearly half of his team’s 10 steals. He forced a Cal turnover after the Golden Bears had scored five points in a row to come within nine.
The game was sloppy and lacked rhythm in the first half, as if it were being played in mud. Cal kept committing turnovers but the Bruins couldn’t build more than a three-point lead because they had trouble making shots.
The score was tied late in the first half when Jaquez made a layup to start an 8-0 run for the Bruins in which Jaquez scored six points.
Cal responded with a 4-0 mini-run before UCLA coach Mick Cronin called a timeout to set up the final play of the first half. Campbell rattled in a mid-range jumper to give UCLA a 31-25 halftime lead, earning hand slaps from teammates on his way off the court.
The Golden Bears had matched the Bruins almost step for step to that point largely because of their ability to get behind UCLA’s defense for repeated layups, with Kelly making all five of his shots on the way to 10 points at halftime.
