No. 4 UCLA Strikes Early, Dismantles Cal

No. 4 UCLA Strikes Early, Dismantles Cal
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (24) of the UCLA Bruins drives to the basket against Sam Alajiki (24) of the California Golden Bears in the first half at UCLA Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2023. Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
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Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a game-high 20 points, including four during a 12–0 game-opening run, and fourth-ranked UCLA ran away from California early en route to a 78–43 Pac-12 Conference shellacking in Los Angeles on Saturday night, Feb. 18.

Amari Bailey chipped in with 16 points and Jaylen Clark added 13 for the Bruins (23–4, 14–2 Pac-12), who beat their rivals from the north for the 11th consecutive time.

Amari Bailey (5) of the UCLA Bruins drives to the basket in the first half against the California Golden Bears at UCLA Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2023. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Amari Bailey (5) of the UCLA Bruins drives to the basket in the first half against the California Golden Bears at UCLA Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2023. Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

Kuany Kuany came off the bench to lead Cal (3–24, 2–14) with 14 points. Joel Brown supplied 10 points, but no other Golden Bear managed to score in double figures.

Clark and Tyger Campbell added 3-pointers to UCLA’s opening burst, which lasted just over six minutes.

Brown’s layup at the 13:57 mark finally got Cal on the scoreboard.

En route to their sixth straight win, the Bruins went on to lead 38–15 at halftime before coasting home.

UCLA shot 51.7 percent from the field for the game, with Jaquez hitting six of his 11 shots, Bailey seven of his 12 and Clark five of his nine.

The 20-point game was Jaquez’s third in a row and ninth of the season. He poured in 26 points in Thursday’s 73–64 home win over Stanford.

Bailey also found time for a game-high nine rebounds, while Jaquez had eight. Campbell finished with a game-high five assists.

Cal shot just 22 percent from the floor for the game, making just 11 field goals in the 40 minutes. Kuany had three of the 11, including two of the Golden Bears’ three 3-pointers.

Grant Newell added nine points to go with a team-high six rebounds for Cal, which lost its 11th straight game overall.

Brown had three steals for the Golden Bears, who lost by a similar amount (97–60) in their trip opener against Southern Cal on Thursday.