No. 9 UCLA Secures 71-65 Win at Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. – Johnny Juzang scored a team-leading 23 points and had six rebounds to guide the No. 9-ranked UCLA men's basketball past Colorado, 71-65, in a Pac-12 contest at the CU Events Center on Saturday night.
 
Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, were the Bruins' only players to score in double figures.
 
Juzang scored at least 20 points for the fourth consecutive game. The 6-foot-7 guard from Tarzana, Calif., had scored a season-high 28 points in UCLA's 63-58 win at Utah on Thursday evening.

J. Juzang's Postgame Pac-12 Network Interview  

Myles Johnson totaled eight points (all in the first half) on Saturday at Colorado, shooting 4-of-4 from the field, as the Bruins (13-2, 5-1 Pac-12) recorded their third straight victory. Jules Bernard finished with nine points and three rebounds.
 
Leading by a 43-28 margin at halftime, UCLA scored just 12 points through the first 15 minutes of the second half.
 
Colorado (12-6, 4-4 Pac-12) reduced the Bruins' advantage down to one point – at 62-61 with 1:54 to play in regulation – before Tyger Campbell drilled a key 3-point basket at the 1:37 mark. Campbell's triple put UCLA ahead, 65-61.
 
The Buffaloes cut UCLA's lead to 65-63 on a pair of free throws by Evan Battey with 1:14 left in the contest.
 
Through the game's final 30 seconds, the Bruins made all six of their free throw attempts to preserve the crucial Pac-12 road win.
 
In the first half, UCLA went on a 22-8 scoring run over the final 8:06 to secure a 43-28 cushion at the intermission.
 
Through the final three minutes of the opening half, Jaquez Jr. converted an old-fashion 3-point play to put the Bruins ahead 38-25 (at the 2:32 mark). UCLA continued padding its cushion. Juzang nailed a 3-pointer with just under one minute left in the half, giving his team a 41-25 lead, and then Juzang closed the half with an offensive rebound (from his own missed shot) and a layup as the buzzer sounded.
 
The Bruins swept the road trip to Utah and Colorado for the second time in three years under Bruins' third-year head coach Mick Cronin. UCLA previously had swept this Pac-12 trip in Feb. 2020, during a stretch in which the Bruins had closed that season with 11 wins in their final 14 games.
 
UCLA will return to action at home against No. 3 Arizona this Tuesday evening (Jan. 25). Game time in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom is scheduled for 8 p.m. (PT). The Bruins' game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
 
The Bruins will play three home games this week. In addition to Tuesday's rescheduled meeting against Arizona, UCLA will host California on Thursday (Jan. 27) and Stanford on Saturday (Jan. 29).