UCLA both lived and died by the free-throw line at the 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
In the first round of the tournament, the Bruins used their 23-for-24 performance at the charity stripe to carry them to a close win over the UNLV Rebels (5-1).
On Wednesday night – in the third-place game – UCLA made just eight of its 14 free throws, while Wake Forest made 30 of its 42 attempts. That free-throw line disparity was a big reason for UCLA’s 80-77 loss.
The Bruins (3-3) controlled the game early on, taking a 14-9 advantage at the 12:44 mark in the first half. The score was tied up at 26-26 with 7:24 to go in the half, before Wake Forest (4-2) went on a 10-0 run that put the Bruins behind the 8-ball for the rest of the game. UCLA would eventually cut its deficit twice to one point, but never was able to tie the game up again.
The Bruins’ best chance to tie the game back up came with 3:23 to go, with senior forward/center Tony Parker standing at the free-throw line. Parker missed both of his foul shots, and Wake Forest grabbed a defensive rebound to preserve its lead.
Outside of those two missed free throws, Parker did just about everything he could to keep UCLA in the game. The senior tallied 18 points and 15 rebounds – his fourth double-double in six games this year – and he also added two blocks and two steals.
With Parker’s help, UCLA won the rebound battle for the fifth time in its six games this year. But on the negative side, the Bruins lost the turnover battle for the fifth time this year as well, committing 11 turnovers compared to the Demon Deacons’ 10.
Freshman guard Aaron Holiday committed five of those 11 Bruin turnovers, with two of them coming on back-to-back possessions in the final two minutes, when UCLA was still within striking distance.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.