Bruins Win Fifth Straight, Defeating Marquette, 69-60

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LOS ANGELES – Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a team-leading 18 points to help lead the UCLA men's basketball team past Marquette, 69-60, in a non-conference showdown Friday night at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
 
The Bruins (5-1) recorded their fifth consecutive win, with the last four taking place in Pauley Pavilion, in the first matchup against Marquette since the 1964-65 season.
 
Jaquez Jr. tied his career high with 18 points, while Jules Bernard scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench. Bernard was 5-for-7 from the field and made all four of his free throw attempts.
 
"Jules Bernard, obviously the MVP, I thought, of tonight's game," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "His defense on their best players, his toughness, his rebounding, his efficiency on offense – 15 points on only seven shots, no turnovers. He's becoming a very, very good player in front of our eyes."
 
Marquette (4-2) received a game-high 18 points from D.J. Carton. Dawson Garcia (12 points) was the only other player for Marquette to score in double figures.
 
UCLA used a 13-4 scoring run over the game's final seven minutes to pull away with the victory. Tied at 56-56 with under seven minutes to play, UCLA scored the game's next seven points to secure a 63-56 advantage. Chris Smith made three free throws through that stretch, Bernard had a pair from the free throw line and Hill had an emphatic dunk to help the Bruins increase their cushion.
 
Marquette scored four points, trimming UCLA's margin to 63-60. The Bruins responded with a pivotal jump shot by Johnny Juzang at the 2:12 mark before Hill came up huge for UCLA with a block on Marquette's next possession.
 
Juzang finished the game with nine points in 26 minutes. David Singleton scored six points, connecting on 2-of-3 shots from 3-point distance.
 
In all, the Bruins shot 41.1 percent from the field and were 17 for 21 at the free throw line.
 
Early in the first half, UCLA had trailed by as many as eight points (14-6) with 14:31 to play. Down by an 18-11 margin, Juzang nailed a 3-pointer and the Bruins had back-to-back baskets by Jaquez Jr. to even the score, 18-18.
 
After a 3-point basket by Marquette, Bernard scored a 3-pointer and a layup for the Bruins. That put UCLA ahead 23-21 with 9:13 to go before the intermission.
 
The Bruins led Marquette at the half, 36-34. Bernard had nine of his 15 points in the first half.
 
UCLA will take on Long Beach State next Tuesday (Dec. 15) in a non-conference matchup in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The game had originally been scheduled for Nov. 30 but was postponed.
 
The Bruins' game against Long Beach State will be televised on Pac-12 Networks (national, and Los Angeles) and will be on the radio in the Los Angeles area on AM 570 (KLAC).