INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- UCLA and Gonzaga have a historic rivalry that has spanned over close to twenty years now. Images of Adam Morrison sobbing in tears on the court come to mind. Jalen Suggs half court shot lives in March Madness infamy, some might even consider that game the best game ever played in NCAA Tournament history.
The game started off relatively slow, with neither team really able to get into an offensive flow early. UCLA relied on Lazar Stefanovic to get them going on the offensive end. Gonzaga was carried by potential All-American Graham Ike. UCLA's star player Tyler Bilodeau struggled all game. Gonzaga made it a point to double the post right on the entry pass and force Bilodeau to find his teammates.
The Bruins defensive intensity bothered the zags early and took them out of their rhythm. UCLA managed to pull out to a lead as large as 11 in the first half. However, Gonzaga closed the half on a 9-0 run to cut the lead down to just two.
Gonzaga would have to continue the game without one of their best players Khalif Battle. Battle, picked up a flagrant two in the first half and was ejected from the game. This certainly hurt their shooting and scoring ability.
The second half was a really well played second half, that saw a constant back and forth swing. For the zags it was the Nembhard and Ike show. They combined for 40 of the zags 62 points. The story for UCLA was their prolific three point shooting. For a team that has only shot 37% from three, the bruins had an almost out of body experience shooting 50% from three.
Forward Kobe Johnson went 4 for 6 from three and provided clutch threes every time his team needed them. For someone who only shoots 32% from three on the season it came as quite the surprise. Sophomore Eric Dailey Jr. went 4 for 5 from three himself, leading the team with 18 points.
Being in attendance myself, I can say the atmosphere was electric. The sequence of events at the end were nail biting. The game was tied 58-58 when Nembhard hit a jumper in the middle of the lane to take the lead. Sophomore guard Sebastian Mack came back on the other end to complete an and one to give his team the lead 61-60.
Gonzaga missed a wide open three on the other end and fouled to put the Skyy Clark on the line. Clark made both free throws to put his team up three. Gonzaga tried to score quickly on the other end which they did, but UCLA did the unthinkable and fouled. With the opportunity to tie the game Nembahrd missed the free throw. With UCLA up three late and five seconds to go, Gonzaga took a half court three with three seconds still left on the clock. The bruins secured the rebound and the win.
This win marks the end of the non-conference season for the bruins. Moving them to 11-2 on the season. They play conference foe Nebraska next Saturday to continue conference play