Saint Mary’s denied in bid for Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament loss to UCLA
There will be no Sweet 16 for Saint Mary’s.
Beaten repeatedly inside and outside Saturday night, the fifth-seeded Gaels were defeated 72-56 by UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Moda Center in Portland.
UCLA, the No. 4 seed, improved to 27-7 and will advance to the East Regional semifinals Friday night in Philadelphia against North Carolina (26-9), a 96-89 upset winner over top-seeded and defending champion Baylor. The Bruins advanced to the Final Four last season as a No. 11 seed.
Saint Mary’s concludes its season with a 26-8 record that included a 16-0 home record and the best NCAA Tournament seed in school history.
Logan Johnson led Saint Mary’s with 18 points, and was followed in double figures by Matthias Tass (14), forward Alex Ducas (11) and Tommy Kuhse (11).
Point guard Tyger Campbell led UCLA with 16 points, with Jamie Jaquez Jr. scoring 15 before leaving with an ankle injury, Jules Bernard 14 and Johnny Juzang 14.
The teams came in with little to separate them. They had the same record, each had won five of their last six — UCLA losing to Arizona in the Pac-12 title game, Saint Mary’s to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference title game.
Both came in with a reputation of playing stifling defense and with a similar outlook in terms of physicality.
The Bruins took a double-digit lead for the first time with 9:48 remaining at 54-44 on a baseline jumper by Juzang, who scored eight straight points after having just two in the first half. A three-point play by Cody Riley put UCLA up 58-47 with 5:57 left.
UCLA closed the half on a 19-7 run for a 36-29 halftime lead despite 13 points from Johnson.
The Bruins did most of their damage in the key en route to a 53.8 shooting percentage in the half. Jaquez had 13 of his 15 points in the paint as UCLA attempted only four 3-point shots, with Bernard hitting the only one. The Bruins outscored Saint Mary’s 20-6 in the paint in the first half.
The Gaels’ shot selection drew the ire of Bennett, and helped result in a 38.5 shooting percentage (10-for-26). Saint Mary’s had five first-half turnovers to just two for UCLA. The Gaels, after hitting seven of their first 10 shots, made only three of their last 16.
During a span where Saint Mary’s missed six straight shots, UCLA surged to a 24-22 lead with 6:30 left in the half on a 3-point shot by Bernard.
Saint Mary’s forced a UCLA time out with 12:29 left in the half with a 9-2 run and a 16-9 lead, with Johnson hitting a pair of 3-point shots plus another 3-pointer by Ducas.