Tyler Honeycutt did everything he could to steal a win for UCLA in a hostile environment. But try as he might, Honeycutt couldn’t prevent a referee’s whistle from denying UCLA the chance at a shocking upset on the road.
Despite a career-high 33 points from Honeycutt, Kansas used a free throw by Mario Little with 0.7 seconds left on the clock to escape Thursday night with a 77-76 win over UCLA at Allen Fieldhouse.
Trailing 76-73, UCLA forced a Kansas turnover and worked the ball to Honeycutt, who buried a deep 3-pointer ““ his fifth long-ball of the night ““ to tie the game at 77 with 5 seconds to play.
But on the ensuing possession, a loose ball foul was called on UCLA junior guard Malcolm Lee at the game’s buzzer. After a video review, time was put back on the clock and Little sealed the win for the No. 4 Jayhawks (7-0).
UCLA (3-3) bent but didn’t break in its second matchup against a top-10 team in as many weeks, led by the valiant efforts of their star sophomore forward. Honeycutt went 11-for-15 from the floor and added 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block in a performance that likely has the eyes of the NBA scouts wide open.
Honeycutt’s performance wasn’t the only bright one for the Bruins. Coach Ben Howland brought freshman center Joshua Smith off the bench for the first time this season on Thursday, and the move paid off.
The usually foul-prone Smith stayed out of foul trouble on the way to his first career double-double ““ 17 points and 13 rebounds ““ with his hustle coming up big for UCLA on multiple possessions. Smith and Honeycutt played a key part in the Bruins outrebounding the Jayhawks 37-32.
For the second straight year, Marcus and Markieef Morris proved tough to handle for the Bruins. The twin junior forwards combined for 25 points and 13 rebounds as Kansas escaped with its 65th straight home win.