March Madness: No. 4 UCLA bounced by No. 8 UNC, 73-66
The Bruins hopes were crushed Friday, failing to earn a spot in their second-straight Elite Eight, with their tight loss against University of North Carolina, 73-66.
March Madness has lived up to all the hype this year, thanks in large part to everyone's new favorite team -- the Saint Peter's Peacocks -- who as a No. 15 seed have continued to exceed all expectations, earning their own spot in the Elite Eight. They're the first 15-seed in NCAA Tournament history to make it this far in tourney play.
UCLA rode to a 31-28 lead at half thanks to a balanced offensive performance from their starting core. Jules Bernard led the Bruins in scoring with nine points at the half, followed by eight from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and seven each from Johnny Juzang and Tyger Campbell.
UNC kept it close throughout, thanks in part to their performance on the boards, which saw them out-rebound the Bruins 24-16 in the first half alone -- including nine offensive rebounds. A slow start to the game saw them shoot just 3-for-14 from beyond the arc, however, they finished the contest shooting 35.7% from deep.
A back-and-forth contest persisted throughout the second half as the teams traded shots. The Tar Heels tied it up with just over seven minutes left in the half, but a wild over-the-shoulder layup from Campbell put the Bruins back up, 58-56.
UNC jumped back up by one thanks to a clutch three from Brady Manek with just 4:16 left to play. UCLA answered immediately, after a gritty couple of seconds that saw two offensive rebounds and Campbell diving for what was almost a costly errant pass, to jump back up 64-61 thanks to a floater from Jaquez Jr.
The Tar Heels answered back with a huge pair of three-pointers from Caleb Love to take the lead with 58.2 seconds left.
North Carolina's Caleb Love led all scorers with 30 points, 27 of them coming in the second half alone. Bernard led UCLA with 16 points, followed by 15 from Campbell.
For the second-straight game, the Bruins locked down on defense as their first half output saw them with three blocks and four steals, nicely complemented by a nearly 50% shooting performance from the field. But, it wasn't enough to outlast the Tar Heels sudden offensive output in the final minutes of the contest.
The Tar Heels will now go on to face Saint Peter's in the Elite Eight on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
