National Basketball Association
UCLA 86, Ohio St. 73
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials:
# Dick Cartmell, # Randall McCall, # Ted Valentine
Attendance:
N/A
By The Sports Xchange
LAS VEGAS -- UCLA's high-scoring offense did not reach its average but the second-ranked Bruins were still efficient with four players in double figures in an 86-73 win over Ohio State on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at the T-Mobile Arena.
Guards Aaron Holiday and Bryce Alford each had 20 points for the Bruins, who are 12-0 for the first time since starting 14-0 in 2006-07. UCLA made 48.4 percent of its shots against a Buckeyes' defense that allowed opponents to shoot only 37.9 percent entering the game.
UCLA, which averaged 97.9 points a game before Saturday, scored far more than what Ohio State (8-3) allowed (61.7 points a game).
"First and foremost is their balance," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said when asked what impressed him most about UCLA. "At several times, different guys made a run at us. That's a great thing to have. You don't know who will be next, but you know it's coming."
The Bruins were also led by guard Aaron Hamilton's 17 points and forward T.J. Leaf's 13 points and nine rebounds. Freshman point guard Lonzo Ball had eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
UCLA coach Steve Alford said of his guards (Ball, Hamilton, Alford and Holiday): "You have to prepare at a high level for all four of them. They're very, very smart and outstanding ball-handlers, outstanding decision-makers and all four of them are tough in that they are not afraid to make a play."
Ohio State forward Marc Loving had a team-high 19 points, 13 of which came in the first half, and forward Jae'Sean Tate added 15 points. Loving went 3 of 6 from 3-point range. His teammates were a combined 2 of 18.
The Buckeyes also committed 18 turnovers, including four of them after Ohio State cut the lead to 71-65 with 6:40 left in regulation. UCLA went on a 7-2 run to increase the lead to 78-67 behind five points from Holiday.
"We're having fun right now, but we can't complacent," Holiday said of UCLA's undefeated stretch. "We still have to come out and fight and play the way we want to play."
UCLA started the second half on an 11-3 run to open a 51-40 lead with 16:41 left in regulation. Two 3-pointers by Hamilton and Leaf fueled that rally and Leaf also made a layup in that stretch.
The Bruins made four consecutive field goals at one point to take their biggest lead at that point (56-42) with 15:40 left. UCLA was shooting 52 percent from the field when guard Alford made the last of those four baskets with a 3-point shot.
UCLA also out-rebounded Ohio State 41-31. What stuck out most to Loving was the Bruins shooting 48.4 percent.
"It's hard to beat a team that shoots like that," he said. "We tried to get back but we allowed too many open looks for them in transition."
Ohio State weathered a UCLA outburst in the first half. With 2:37 left before halftime, UCLA built a 40-30 lead with forward Leaf culminating a 12-2 run with a dunk. The Buckeyes scored seven unanswered points the remainder of the half.
Loving made a 3-pointer during that run. A layup by guard Kam Williams with 1:15 left in the half cut UCLA's lead to 40-37.
NOTES: UCLA played its third straight game without starting junior C Thomas Welsh, out with a bruised right knee. ... UCLA ranked first in the nation in field-goal percentage (56.0), 3-point percentage (45.3), total assists (266) and assists per game (24.2) entering the game. ... Ohio State senior F Marc Loving is the 53rd player in the program to reach 1,000 career points. He is the 12th such player in the Thad Matta era (starting in 2005-06) to reach 1,000. He is at 1,079 ... UCLA freshman G Lonzo Ball entered the contest second in the nation in assists with 8.6 a game, trailing only Creighton's Maurice Watson Jr. (9.1). ... Matta had 11 wins against teams ranked in the top five in the AP Top 25 poll before facing UCLA. The last victory was over No. 4 Kentucky last December in the CBS Sports Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Top Game Performances
| Ohio St. |
|
UCLA |
|
Marc Loving 19 |
Scoring |
Bryce Alford 20 |
|
JaQuan Lyle 6 |
Assists |
Lonzo Ball 9 |
|
Micah Potter 8 |
Rebounds |
Lonzo Ball 9 |
|
JaQuan Lyle 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Aaron Holiday 8 |
|
JaQuan Lyle 4 |
Steals |
Aaron Holiday 5 |
|
Jae'Sean Tate 1 |
Blocks |
Gyorgy Goloman 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Ohio St.
|
73 |
46.8 |
5-24 |
10-12 |
17 |
29 |
2 |
10 |
18 |
| UCLA
|
86 |
48.4 |
10-31 |
14-19 |
19 |
39 |
1 |
12 |
15 |
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