March Madness: No. 4 UCLA escapes upset at hands of No. 13 Akron, 57-53
The No. 4 seeded UCLA Bruins escaped becoming another victim of March Madness, completing a huge comeback against the No. 13 seeded Akron Zips Thursday evening.
The Bruins were shooting just 33% through the third quarter, but clutch shots from Tyger Campbell and sloppy play from Akron allowed them to eke past the upset, moving on to the Round of 32.
A huge three from Tyger Campbell brought the Bruins within one point, 51-50, with just over two minutes left in regulation. The play led to an illegal screen from the Zips, the fifth foul of the contest for Enrique Freeman, fouling him out of the contest. At the time of the foul, he was the Zips' second-leading scorer with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Campbell then hit another mid-range jumper from just outside of the free throw line to send the Bruins up, 52-51. He would again hit another dagger from well-beyond the arc, sending UCLA ahead 55-51 with 1:16 left.
He ended up with 16 points, leading the team in scoring for the contest. He was followed by Jaime Jaquez Jr., who had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
A huge defensive stand from UCLA, finished by a game-saving block from Bernard with 4.3 left, sealed the victory for the Bruins.
Johnny Juzang, celebrating his 21st birthday, cemented the victory with two clutch free throws to put the Bruins up 57-53.
UCLA will go on to face the No. 5 seeded St. Mary's Gaels, who defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 82-53 earlier Thursday afternoon.
The Zips were led by Xavier Castaneda, who had 18 points and six rebounds.
The win comes just hours after UCLA announced a multi-million dollar, multi-year deal for head coach Mick Cronin.