Sophomore center Thomas Welsh jumped to the ball and wrestled it away from two Arizona State Sun Devils, grabbing the offensive rebound and immediately whisking it to the top of the key.
There, freshman guard Aaron Holiday found himself wide open, rose up and made a crucial 3-pointer to break a 74-74 tie with 1:10 left in the game. UCLA (11-6, 2-2 Pac-12) would go on to extend its narrow lead, beating ASU (10-6, 0-3) 81-74 Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
Welsh’s critical board was part of a 16-rebound effort, a career high for the sophomore. Even more remarkably, he collected 14 of them in the second half after the Bruins were soundly beaten on the boards in the first half 23 to 12.
“We really challenged (Welsh) at the half,” said coach Steve Alford. “When you challenge Tom, Tom responds. He’s a prideful individual, and he dominated the paint in the second half.”
That 11-rebound deficit at the half flipped into a three-rebound advantage for UCLA by the end of the night. After giving up seven offensive rebounds to the Sun Devils in the first half, the Bruins allowed just one more in the second.
“I just really wanted to come out and be more intense on the glass,” Welsh said. “I feel that in rebounding, the guy who wants the ball the most is the guy who’s going to get it.”
Going into the game, intensity and energy were the big questions for a team coming off a thrilling upset over No. 7 Arizona Thursday night. However, UCLA showed no signs of a letdown, holding a 30-18 lead with 5:19 left in the first half.
The Bruins forced the Sun Devils into nine first half turnovers and senior forward/center Tony Parker controlled the paint with three blocks before adding a fourth one after halftime.
In the second half, both offenses began picking up steam as ASU’s sophomore guard Tra Holder got into a rhythm and scored 16 of his 26 points as the Sun Devils made a comeback, going up by as many as six.
However, UCLA’s own junior guard Isaac Hamilton – who tied Holder with game-high honors of 26 points – responded by scoring 19 in the second half.
While ASU relied on Holder to shoulder the entire offensive load, UCLA enjoyed strong play from all three starting guards – junior guard Bryce Alford scored 18 points while Holiday added in 10.
In fact, down by two with 1:46 left, the Bruins ended the game on a 9-0 run, with three points each from their three guards.
After starting off conference play with a disappointing 0-2 record, UCLA has turned it around behind more consistency in energy and effort. The challenge now is to sustain it.
“We just build from here,” Hamilton said. “Keep the momentum going.”