Early on, the UCLA men’s basketball game against Cal Saturday night looked like it would be a reprise of a game the Bruins played in Eugene, Ore. two weeks earlier.
Similar to the Oregon Ducks, the Bears were incendiary from beyond the arc, as they connected on three 3-point baskets within the game’s first six minutes. The hot shooting helped Cal build a 15-6 lead over UCLA by the 14:10 mark of the first half.
At that point, the Bruins could’ve either withered like they did against the Ducks, or played strong like they did over the past week and a half against Utah, Colorado and Stanford.
UCLA did the latter, and trail by just four points at halftime, as Cal sits with a 32-28 advantage.
The Bruins made the comeback by doing the one thing that has been seemingly foolproof for them all year: taking the ball inside. Junior forward/center Tony Parker and freshman forward Kevon Looney have been active inside, despite the fact that they both were briefly sidelined during the first half because of injuries. At the end of the half, Parker and Looney have combined for nine points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Bears cooled off considerably after the hot start, as their three 3-pointers made during the first six minutes of the half proved to be the only 3-pointers they made all half long. Cal finished the period 3-9 from beyond the arc.
Cal scored only eight points over the final seven minutes of the period compared to UCLA’s 12, but received a momentum boost at the halftime buzzer, as the Bears’ Jordan Mathews made a tip-in basket as time expired.
At the half, UCLA guard Bryce Alford leads all scorers with 13 points on 4-7 shooting.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.