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From Ben Bolch: Winning every game is just about the only way UCLA can make the NCAA tournament, and the Bruins keep persevering as part of a stunning late-season push.
Their latest breathless escape made Mick Cronin joke that his internist was concerned because the coach was agitated about his team giving up too many backdoor layups.
So Dr. Benjamin Ansell could give thanks for the game’s final sequence Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA got the stop it needed to pull out a 64-60 victory over Colorado and sustain a joyride that has entered a second month.
“At the end of the day,” Cronin said, “we got the job done.”
The dramatic ending came after the Bruins lost a double-digit lead only to surge ahead by seven points with two minutes left. They nearly squandered every bit of that advantage as well.
Down by three points, the Buffaloes had the ball coming out of a timeout with 17 seconds left. Cronin didn’t want his team to immediately foul because there was too much time left on the clock. But he didn’t want to give up a quick layup either.
The Bruins did neither.
What does UCLA need to do to reach the NCAA tournament? The Bruins have three paths
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USC BASKETBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Joshua Morgan’s monstrous block on Utah’s Deivon Smith cemented USC’s 68-64 win over Utah on Thursday as the Trojans fended off a late Utes rally to secure their sixth straight win in the series.
With USC leading by two and 11 seconds remaining, senior Boogie Ellis missed the front end of a one-and-one. Smith, who led Utah with 19 points, snatched the defensive rebound and raced up the court, driving straight to the rim. Morgan met him at the summit, sending a mostly sleepy Galen Center crowd into a frenzy. DJ Rodman secured the defensive rebound, raced down the court for a buzzer-beating layup and shouted toward the rafters.
Isaiah Collier led USC with 15 points and six assists. Rodman had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
CLIPPERS
Clippers forward P.J. Tucker was fined $75,000 by the NBA on Thursday for publicly expressing a desire to be traded before last week’s deadline.
Tucker was acquired by the Clippers from Philadelphia in the trade for James Harden on Nov. 1 but played in just 12 games before falling out the rotation for good. He has not played since Nov. 27.
The 38-year-old forward expressed his frustrations with the situation and said before the Feb. 8 trade deadline that he wanted to be moved, according to ClutchPoints.com.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: D’Anton Lynn’s fast makeover of UCLA’s struggling defense started slowly. So slowly, in fact, that when he was installing plays during spring practice last year, players grew frustrated with the snail’s pace. A year later at USC, the Trojans’ first-year defensive coordinator intends to take the same deliberate pace toward what he hopes will be similar results: a reinvigorated defense worthy of a championship.
“We want it to be as simple as possible,” Lynn said Thursday. “We want to make a little look like a lot.”
With an emphasis on player development, USC introduced its four new defensive assistant coaches to reporters Thursday before the Trojans begin spring practices on March 19. All practices will be closed to the public until the spring game at 12 p.m. April 20 at the Coliseum.
GOLF
From Steve Galluzzo: Even for a Southern California kid, Patrick Cantlay appeared pretty laid back.
The ability to keep his cool and his familiarity with the course allowed him to navigate unusually fast greens Thursday at Riviera Country Club on his way to a seven-under-par 64 in the first round of the Genesis Invitational.
“I’ll take rounds like that every time and I hope I can string more of them together,” he said after taking the clubhouse lead and watching the remainder of the 70-player field try to catch him. “I’m comfortable around this place. The greens are the best I’ve seen them. I made every putt I should’ve and a couple long ones. It’s a great start.”
When told his total was only three off the tournament 18-hole record of 61 ( set by George Archer in the third round at Rancho Park in 1983 and matched by Ted Tryba in the third round at Riviera in 1999), Cantlay had no clue. Nor did he give a thought to breaking the 72-hole standard of 264 set by Lanny Wadkins at Riviera in 1985.
UCLA GYMNASTICS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: At 7:20 a.m. sharp, Emma Malabuyo steps out of the elevator across from Pauley Pavilion. A poster of her dressed in a sparkly blue leotard faces the front door of UCLA’s Acosta Training Center. It represents only one of the junior’s goals on this campus.
Malabuyo is a star contributor for the Bruins, who are chasing their first appearance in the NCAA championship final since 2019. Toting a black backpack across campus, she is also a full-time student with aspirations of a career in sports broadcasting. A reminder of her latest dream is hanging around her neck — a gold necklace with a pendant of the Olympic rings.
While a goal as lofty as the Olympics often requires full dedication, Malabuyo is attempting an especially ambitious balancing act. Her road to Paris begins Thursday in Cairo, where she will compete in the first of three World Cup meets with hopes of earning an Olympic berth while representing the Philippines.
The busy schedule has been overwhelming at points. She was worried professors wouldn’t accommodate her travel schedule that will take her to Egypt, Germany and Azerbaijan in the span of four weeks. UCLA started its season with three consecutive road meets, fighting through the airport on a weekly basis between long training workouts. Some days, she can barely lift her arm above shoulder height after undergoing surgery during the summer.
But through the aches and pains, late nights and early mornings, the 21-year-old never stops smiling.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA women’s career scoring record, making a three-pointer from about 35 feet in the first quarter for No. 4 Iowa against Michigan on Thursday night.
Clark went into the game needing eight points to pass Kelsey Plum’s total of 3,527.
She wasted no time, making her first three shots — a layup and two threes — and scoring Iowa’s first eight points. The record-breaker was a three off the dribble on the left wing near the Mediacom Court logo with 7:45 left in the first quarter.
“It’s cool. It’s cool to be in the same realm as a lot of really, really good players,” Clark said at halftime in a televised interview. “I’m lucky to do it because I have really good teammates and really good coaches and a great support system that surrounds me.”
KINGS
Quinton Byfield scored on a power play with 5:37 left and the Kings rebounded from a seven-goal loss to beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night.
Anze Kopitar scored a short-handed goal and David Rittich made 27 saves as the Kings won for only the fifth time in their last 20 games (5-9-6).
Tyler Toffoli scored on a power play for New Jersey, which had won two in a row. Nico Daws was outstanding in goal, making 27 saves, including sensational glove stops on Kopitar in the first period and Adrian Kempe in the second.
DUCKS
Mason McTavish scored twice against his hometown team to help the Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Thursday night.
The 21-year-old McTavish grew up in nearby Carp, Ontario, Canada. He has 15 goals this season, his third with the Ducks.
Frank Vatrano, Pavel Mintyukov and Cam Fowler also scored for Anaheim. The Ducks rebounded from a 5-0 loss in Montreal on Tuesday night.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1970 — Joe Frazier retains his world heavyweight title with a fifth-round knockout of Jimmy Ellis.
1972 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Lakers becomes the first player in NBA history to reach the 30,000 point mark during a 110-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
1992 — Martina Navratilova becomes the career singles titles leader by beating Jana Novotna in three sets in the final of the Virginia Slims of Chicago. Navratilova, with her 158th career singles championship, passes Chris Evert, who retired in 1989.
1997 — Jeff Gordon, 25, becomes the youngest winner of the Daytona 500 after Dale Earnhardt crashes 12 laps from the end to prolong his Daytona 500 jinx.
2001 — Philadelphia coach Larry Brown earns his 1,000th pro win, including his ABA record. Brown, 1,000-707 overall, ranks third on the career list behind Toronto’s Lenny Wilkens and Miami’s Pat Riley. Allen Iverson’s 42 points leads the 76ers to a 108-93 win over the Clippers.
2013 — American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the youngest woman in 39 years to win the slalom title at the world alpine championships held in Schladming, Austria. At the age of 17 years, 340 days, Shiffrin edges local hope Michaela Kirchgasser. The only slalom world champions younger than Shiffrin were Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein and Esme Mackinnon of Britain.
2014 — American Bode Miller (36) becomes the oldest medalist in Olympic alpine skiing history when he ties for bronze in the super-G in Sochi
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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