No. 13 UCLA knocks off Washington State in Pac-12 quarters
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 23 points, Jules Bernard added 19 and No. 13 UCLA knocked off Washington State 75-65 on Thursday night in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Bruins (24-6) got off to a slow start offensively, but shut down the Cougars until they could find a rhythm. Once UCLA did, it went on a 19-2 run to build a 12-point halftime lead and didn't let up.
UCLA moves into Friday's semifinals, where they'll play either Washington or No. 21 USC.
Seventh-seeded Washington State (19-14) struggled against UCLA's pressure during a lengthy first-half offensive funk. The Cougars shot better in the second half, but were unable to make up any ground as the Bruins continued to make shots.
Andrej Jakimovski had 15 points and Tyrell Roberts 14 to lead Washington State, which was playing in the conference tourney quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.
UCLA blew out Washington State 76-56 in the teams' lone meeting during the regular season, the Cougars' most lopsided loss of the year.
Washington State forced numerous shots with the shot clock winding down in the first, and had a stretch of 8 1/2 minutes without a field goal. The Cougars shot 9 of 27 in the first half.
Bernard scored 10 points during the 19-2 run that put UCLA up 40-28 at halftime.
In the second half, Washington State made five of its first seven shots — and fell further behind. UCLA hit seven of nine shots during one stretch to push the lead to 57-42 and Jaquez had 17 second-half points to keep the Cougars at bay.
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: An awful offensive stretch in the first half put the Cougars in too deep a hole, even as the shots began falling in the second.
UCLA: Relied on its defense while its offense labored. Once the offense caught up, the Bruins rolled into the semifinals.
UP NEXT
Washington State: Awaits word on a possible invite to a second-tier postseason tournament.
UCLA: Plays the USC-Washington winner in Friday's semifinals.
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