This post was updated March 2 at 12:15 a.m.
The highlight plays came in bunches Wednesday as No. 3 UCLA pummeled an overmatched Washington team 98-66 at Pauley Pavilion, but the defining moment of the game was a sour one for the Bruins.
Less than five minutes into the first half, freshman forward T.J. Leaf sprained his left ankle by landing awkwardly on Washington forward Noah Dickerson after blocking a shot.
Leaf was down on the ground for over a minute before being helped off the court and into the locker room by two UCLA assistants. He did not return to the game, and coach Steve Alford said it’s unclear whether Leaf will be available for Saturday’s game against Washington State.
“He’ll be on crutches, boot, just trying to get that thing rest,” Alford said after the game. “It’s just a sprained ankle, and it’s not a bad one, but we’ll have to wait and see what the next 48 hours look like.”
Alford said Leaf was enjoying himself in the locker room after the game, a product of both the freshman’s easygoing personality and the Bruins’ dominant win.
With the uncertain status of Leaf – the team’s leading scorer – hanging over the action, the Bruins did their best to send the crowd home happy, scoring 49 points in each half.
Senior guard Bryce Alford made eight 3-pointers and scored a game-high 29 points while freshman point guard Lonzo Ball tallied 19 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals, and senior guard Isaac Hamilton added 15 points of his own.
With Leaf out of the game, UCLA went to its four-guard lineup for extended stretches, playing at a fast pace that produced plenty of highlight sequences.
It helped that the Huskies turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 34 Bruin points.
The most embarrassing of those turnovers might have come with just under 16 minutes left when Bryce Alford poked the ball away from Washington guard David Crisp and gave Ball an easy dunk opportunity.
Seriously. Not a fair fight. pic.twitter.com/VumFKkwDhj
— Matt Cummings (@mbcummings15) March 2, 2017
That was far from the only highlight for the Bruins, who sent the home fans into a frenzy time after time in the second half. At one point, Ball received the ball under UCLA’s hoop and lofted a high-arcing football pass over halfway downcourt to Hamilton, who drove into the paint and hit a floater.
So Lonzo threw this pass… pic.twitter.com/zLyudD01Hp
— Matt Cummings (@mbcummings15) March 2, 2017
Ball then flew up the court to steal Washington’s inbound pass and, two passes later, drilled a corner 3. In another sequence, Ball sprinted downcourt in transition and leapt to catch a lob from Hamilton but adjusted and instead tipped the ball to freshman center Ike Anigbogu for a wide-open dunk.
More ridiculousness from Lonzo and the Bruins pic.twitter.com/iajOPcMrSe — Matt Cummings (@mbcummings15) March 2, 2017
“When we get out in transition, with ’Zo and Bryce and I on the wings, it’s hard to try to choose as a defender who to guard,” Hamilton said. “So we just make plays.”
UCLA shot 52.1 percent for the game, including 14-of-27 from 3-point range, while Washington only shot a measly 39.4 percent.
“We’ve seen over the last eight games a gradual confidence that’s been building at the defensive end,” Steve Alford said. “We’ve always made the best play possible on offense but defensively, we’d kind of just been stuck to guarding our own guy. Now all of a sudden, we’re starting to figure things out and anticipate well.”
With his eight triples Wednesday, Bryce Alford became the first player in UCLA history to hit over 100 3-pointers in a single season.
“When you see a couple go in, as a shooter, you’re just trying to get the ball for the next one,” Bryce Alford said.