This post was updated Nov. 27 at 9.13 p.m.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Back and forth it went.
Aggies on top, then the Bruins – each team putting together runs before the other responded.
But guards, freshman Lonzo Ball and senior Bryce Alford had the final say, overcoming cold shooting to make big 3-pointers down the stretch and clinch the game for No. 14 UCLA (7-0) over Texas A&M (4-2) 74-67 Sunday night.
The Aggies, like the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the semifinals, needed to slow the game down against the fast-paced Bruins, a team averaging 100.7 points a game.
Both succeeded, limiting UCLA to its lowest-scoring games of the season, over 20 points less than its season-average.
Texas A&M controlled the pace of the game with its front court play, passing the ball inside to sophomore center Tyler Davis who scored the Aggies’ first eight points of the game.
Davis and freshman forward Robert Williams dominated the paint, scoring 16 points and 12 points respectively and contesting UCLA’s layups on the other end of the court.
“This team today – they’re long, they’re big, they’re athletic,” said coach Steve Alford. “That’s the biggest zone we’ve seen to date, and we’ll learn from it.”
With the mismatch inside, the Bruins instead relied on 3-point shooting, making 46 percent of their long-range shots, and their defense, to claw their way past the defending Southeastern Conference champion.
UCLA came out of halftime ready to extend the lead, knocking down three baskets to turn their one-point lead into a nine-pointer.
But Texas A&M responded after a timeout, closing the game to 45-43 and staying within striking distance.
The Aggies took a 63-62 lead with three minutes left, making the first time all season the Bruins trailed late in the game.
UCLA, led by Ball who had three blocks along with 16 points and 10 assists, shut down the Texas A&M playmakers and stopped any Aggie momentum.
Ball made a 3-point jumper off freshman forward TJ Leaf’s steal to swing the game back towards the Bruins, before coming up to assist on Bryce Alford’s three.
Alford and Ball’s 3-pointers and a bucket from Leaf pushed the lead to five with under a minute remaining, and the Aggies, who had countered each UCLA run, couldn’t find one more answer.
“We’re learning how to fight,” Bryce Alford said. “Last year, if somebody hit us in the face we didn’t do anything about it. But in the championship game, they came out with the run and we fought and clawed our way into the lead. That’s what we do.”