No. 24 UCLA overcomes sloppy play to beat Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Cody Riley scored 13 points, Jules Bernard made a clutch 3-pointer with 2 minutes remaining and No. 24 UCLA shook off a mistake-filled night to beat California 61-57 on Thursday.

The Bruins (12-2, 8-0 Pac-12) committed 14 turnovers and were sloppy offensively but ended the game on a 7-2 run.

Riley converted a spinning layup that put UCLA ahead 54-52. After Grant Anticevich’s fifth 3-pointer gave Cal the lead, Riley made a 17-foot jumper and Bernard followed with his pivotal shot from beyond the arc that gave UCLA a four-point lead.

Bernard finished with 11 points to help the Bruins to their eighth consecutive win over the Golden Bears.

Anticevich scored 21 points and made five 3s for California (7-9, 2-7). The Bears played without leading scorer Matt Bradley.

UCLA improved to 14-3 in two seasons under Mick Cronin in games decided by five points or less.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA: It definitely wasn’t pretty and Cronin angrily stomped his feet on more than a few occasions. The Bruins defense played better down the stretch, however, and that was the difference. UCLA held Cal scoreless for more than 3 1/2 minutes after the Bears took their final lead.

California: Bradley is nursing a right ankle injury that has kept him out of seven of the last nine games, and it showed. Anticevich was the only Bears player in double figures.

UP NEXT

UCLA: Plays Stanford in Santa Cruz on Saturday.

California: Hosts USC on Saturday, although the status of the game is uncertain after USC’s scheduled game against Stanford was postponed due to a suspected COVID-19 case within the Trojans’ program.

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