In a 71-67 loss to Oregon State last Sunday, UCLA showed it lives and dies with the shooting hand of Jordan Adams.
The sophomore guard missed each of his nine field goal tries against the Beavers and, as a result, the Bruins could not establish any sort of momentum until the closing minutes of the contest.
At the Galen Center on Saturday night, Adams showed his shot was alive and well. He made his first shot, a layup, and looked more patient throughout the half, converting four of his seven field goal attempts. But, playing to a 41-35 lead, the Trojans looked even sharper.
Led by 18 points from junior forward Byron Wesley, USC shot 59.3 percent for the half. Senior guard J.T. Terrell pitched in with eight points, while freshman guard Julian Jacobs had four.
Sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson once again had a varied statistical half, going 4-of-7 from the floor with five rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Zach LaVine, who was just 1-for-7 against Oregon State, continued his offensive struggles with a 1-for-5 showing.
USC led by 10 with 4:31 to play, but an Adams three-pointer, a pair of free throws from LaVine and a jumper from redshirt senior forward Travis Wear nearly cut the Trojans’ lead in half in the closing minutes of the half.
In the teams’ last game, a Jan. 5 matchup at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA led 56-34 at the half.
Compiled by Andrew Erickson, Bruin Sports senior staff