North Carolina Denies UCLA’s Bid to Elite Eight

March 25, 2022

Philadelphia, PA – The relentless Caleb Love led the No. 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels (27-9) to a thrilling 73-66 victory and closed out strong against the No. 4-seed UCLA Bruins (27-8) in the NCAA Sweet 16 on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. North Carolina advances to their 27th Elite Eight appearance where they will face the No. 15-seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks.

With the Tar Heels season on the line, Love erupted for 30 points and led the charge in crunch time.

“Tonight’s game was a must win,” said Love. “It was the game to get to the Elite Eight. I’m just proud of our guys. My teammates are wonderful. Our coaching staff is the best in the country. So, they put us in a position to win and that’s what we did.”

Love scored just three points in the first half but kicked it into second gear dropping 27 points in the second.

He changed his shoes at halftime.

“Hoots told me to change them because I never play good in the black shoes. So, he told me to change them, and it worked out,” said Love.

North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis was unaware of the shoe change.

“I didn’t even know he switched shoes. The Director of Player Personnel, I’m going to give him a raise. Just let Hoots know. I don’t think it was the shoes. I just think that Caleb played really well.”

UCLA led for most of the first half and was up 31-28 going into the locker room.

The Love Train took off during the second half as he hit back-to-back threes to give the Tar Heels a three-point advantage 67-64 with just under a minute left.

“Caleb, because of his size and athleticism he’s the one guy probably the best on the wing that can create his own shot at any given time. The area that I think he was really good tonight – and he talked about it — he started inside out. I think because of his aggressiveness towards the basket, he found a rhythm beyond the three and he just got hot,” said coach Davis.

A put back by Armando Bacot made it a five-point game 69-64 with 15.5 seconds remaining.

This was officially the nail in the coffin.

“Whether we’re able to close out or not, we have great peace and confidence to be able to close out games because we’ve done that before. We’ve always stepped up to the challenge whether it’s worked out for us, or not. In those situations, we grab and hold on to those past experiences and it gives us confidence and it gives us peace,” said coach Davis.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin described from his standpoint what transpired in the last couple of minutes of the game.

“Well, look, as a coach you can get upset about certain things. The truth is we had a lot of good execution and the ball didn’t go in. Our last three threes were wide open. Johnny missed a couple. Jaime had a couple clean looks that just didn’t go in, and Caleb Love made good shots.”

With this win, North Carolina leads 11-3 in the all-time series against UCLA.

“On Sunday it will be our toughest game of the year,” said coach Davis.

The No. 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels move on to the Elite Eight and take on the No. 15-seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks on Sunday, March 27th at 2:05 p.m.

BEVERLY HILLS LC DOWNS OMBAC BEACHCOMBER

Gary Greenbaum

March 22, 2022

I don’t think anyone really knew what to expect in this game. In Beverly Hills first three games we blew out two teams and were beaten decisively in the other. It’s always a tough haul down to San Diego and facing a strong young Navy team in Beachcomber who beat defending SCLAX Champion San Diego L C in the season opener. But there was a good omen right before the start of the game when longtime Buck Johnny Brasko was recognized by one of the referees Mike Stromberg…….they played together at Loyola and something good happens when you are reunited with an old contemporary and it sure happened today.

In the first quarter Beverly Hills was going to find out a lot about the first year Bucks as John Jossi opened up the scoring with a feeds from James “Shaba” Shabinsky just forty seconds into the game. With four minutes left in the first quarter the Hills squad had jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a Jesse Cuccia solo drive, a second John Jossi tally and a Brett Tietjen cross crease feed to Will McCance who was stationed just off the right pipe. Jesse scored again with just ten seconds remaining in the quarter on a feed from Alex Dixon and the Bucks were up 5-0. Buck faceoff specialist Jared Jacobs went 6/6 at the “X”, netminder Ron Fernando garnered two brilliant saves and the defense was intense with Grant Firestone collecting a takeaway as Mark Bell, John Brasko, A.J. Hoffman and LSM Dustin Doty stayed on the hands of every ‘Comber shooter that got past the restraining line.

Beverly Hills pushed their lead up to 6-0 at the 19:14 mark of the second quarter when Andrew White found the back of the net off a broken clear. The teams traded possessions until the 11:15 mark when Beachcomber finally got on the scoreboard but at the 7:20 mark the Bucks answered when Alex Dixon found Andrew White with a behind the back pass and the lead was back up to six goals. But at the 4:20 mark ‘Comber scored the final shot of the quarter and the Bucks took a 7-2 lead into halftime. Once again Jared Jacobs dominated at the “X” going 4/5 while keeper Ron Fernando garnered six saves. A J Hoffman and Riley Lasda each had a takeaway and the hills squad cut their turnovers down from six in quarter number one to just one unforced error. Beverly Hills had learned from their only loss of the season and was playing with a high lax IQ. They were patient, kept their spacing and were much more precise in their passing while avoiding greedy feeds to the crease. It was all paying off but could they keep it going?

Quarter number three started on a bad note for Beverly Hills as Beachcomber found their footing and scored the next three goals and at the 10:40 mark the Hill’s lead had shrunk to just two goals with a 7-5 score. But at the 9:07 mark Alex Jessup righted the ship as he got his own rebound off the right pipe and put it past the Beachcomber netminder putting the Bucks back up by three. One minute later Jesse Cuccia slammed one off the pipe but George Pertessis was right there to gobble the rebound up at the midfield and put it into the back of the net. Beachcomber scored next off a clean faceoff win but Alex Dixon countered with a solo drive to the crease and the score stood at 10-6. George Pertessis closed out the quarter with a solo drive and the Bucks were up 11-7. Once again Jacobs was dominant going 7/10 at the “X”. A.J. Hoffman and Johnny Brasko each had a takeaway the Buck’s defense held strong with just twenty minutes left to play.

The final quarter was a defensive struggle with both goal keepers putting on a show. James Shabinsky had his second assist of the afternoon as he fed John Jossi on a crease curl at the 15:32 mark. And with 3:05 left to play in the game Alex Dixon fed Steve Brandenburg for the final goal of the afternoon as the Beverly Hills squad put together an impressive 13-7 win. Jared Jacobs went 3/3 and Buck goalie Ron Fernando garnered eight saves in the quarter. The Bucks had four takeaways in the quarter, two by Dustin Doty and one each for Grant Firestone and Alex Dixon.

Next week the Bucks will host the Rays, a new San Diego team that has gotten off to an impressive start. They will faceoff at Culver City High School at 3:30.

Kraken offensive barrage in third period completes 4-2 comeback win over Red Wings

Charles Hamaker

March 19, 2022

_E1A0774 — Photo by Megan Connelly / fi360 News

Seattle, WA – On Women in Hockey night at Climate Pledge Arena,
the Seattle Kraken defeated the Detroit Red Wings by a score of four
to two. Seattle scored four unanswered goals in the third period to
complete the comeback win. Despite going scoreless on five power
play attempts, the Kraken dominated the offensive aspect of the
contest. Seattle amassed 42 shots on goal and dominated the majority
of the game.

The tipping point of this game? A massive save by Seattle goaltender
Philipp Grubauer with 14:27 to go in the final period. The Red Wings
had a three on two situation, looking to extend their lead to three
goals. Grubauer denied Detroit with a sprawling, keeping Seattle in
the game. Seven minutes later, Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson’s
goal opened the flood gates for a wave of Seattle goals. Larsson
talked about the save in the post-game press conference.

“If they get that third one, it’s a bit uphill for us. He (Grubauer) has
been great for us; we haven’t played great in front of him. I think he
has really stepped up his game lately,” Larsson would remark.

This game could be defined by two Kraken teams, a Jekyll and Hyde
of sorts. The Kraken of the first and third periods showed relentless
offensive aggression, putting 15 shots on Detroit goaltender Alex
Nedeljkovic in the first period and 42 in total. Seattle in the second
period played the same sloppy, defensively inept hockey we’ve seen2
them play most of the year. The Red Wings goals came off of an
inability to clear the puck, and a power play goal that was made
possible by an unnecessary hit by Vince Dunn.

Most importantly, the “good” version of the Kraken showed up for a
longer period of time than the “bad.” Seattle came out of the locker
room ready to bring the fight to Detroit. It just did not show up until the
final period, when things started to click. The crowd was electric, and

the Kraken fed off the energy. Seattle shut down Detroit and found
ways to get the puck in the net that they couldn’t earlier in the game.
Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol spoke about the teams play.

“We just stayed with it throughout the game, our start was excellent.
Second period, we made a couple mistakes… We had a decision to
make after the second period: stick with it and try to find a little bit
extra gas in the tank and push, or are we gonna go quietly away in the
final 20 minutes… The way the atmosphere was in the building kind of got things rolling a little bit more,” Hakstol stated.

In their inaugural season, the Kraken haven’t won a lot, but a solid
number of them have shown an elite level of play. A few examples
are: November 21st win over the Washington Capitals, November 27th
win on the road against the Florida Panthers, and the January 23rd
home win over the Panthers. Seattle has not been able to sustain that
level of play, and it’s frustrating to think about the possibilities if they
could. After tonight’s win, defenseman Adam Larsson stated “This is
the standard that we want.” This team has some pieces of the puzzle,
and major pieces could be added this offseason. It’s safe to say that
fans can expect a better product next season at Climate Pledge
Arena.

The next contest for the Kraken is on Tuesday, March 22nd in Arizona
against the Coyotes. Puck drop is at 7PM PST, and the game will be
broadcast on ROOT sports. Arizona sits just above Seattle in the
Western Conference at second to last. A key player to watch is
forward Clayton Keller, who at just 23 years old leads the Coyotes in
goals, assists, and points.

Bruins Advance to Sweet 16 for Second Consecutive Year

Brianne Ingram

March 19, 2022

Portland, OR – The No. 4-seed UCLA Bruins (27-7) routed the No. 5-seed Saint Mary’s Gaels (26-8) to a 72-56 win on Saturday evening at the Moda Center. The Bruins punched their ticket to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 where they will face the No. 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels next Friday.

“It was a great win for us,” said UCLA head coach Mick Cronin. “Best-case scenario, Logan Johnson played great, and we still won. I love him dearly. But these guys performed. Coach Palmer had a great plan defensively with his scout. I’m very lucky to have him, we’re all lucky to have him. And these guys performed today. So, they all stepped their games up.”

The UCLA Bruins in the first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament in Portland, Or on March 17,2022. (Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News)

UCLA went up by 15 points 64-49 with four minutes remaining and Saint Mary’s just couldn’t stop the bleeding to get back in the game.

Offensively, the Bruins were on fire as four of their starters scored double figures: Tyger Campbell (16), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (15), Johnny Juzang (14), and Jules Bernard (14).

Bernard talked about their team unity.

“Yeah, no, the togetherness has been great. You can just feel it. I know all of us can. So, it’s really fun to play that way, man. We love playing with each other. We love to go out there and compete. And we’re just playing to win. And it’s the best feeling, man. Especially in March, man. It’s — we have so much fun.”

Jaquez Jr. injured his right ankle as he came down on his own teammate Cody Riley’s left foot at the 6:58 mark in the second half. He returned to the bench after receiving some treatment, but did not return to the game.

Jaquez has suffered ankle issues throughout the season.

“We got until Friday to play. And trust me, if he can walk, he’ll play,” said coach Cronin.

UCLA closed the first half with a 19-7 run and led by seven 36-29.

Juzang commented on holding the Gaels scoreless with six and a half minutes in the first half and how they were able to build that defensive intensity.

“You know, they started off hot, obviously. But just — I feel like in a lot of our games, once we start picking up our energy on defense and getting deflections, getting steals, riling teams on offense. There was one possession where I think they almost had a 24 — is it — 30, yeah. And our bench was going crazy. So, I think that was like one of the momentous plays and from there, we just kept our energy up on defense and kept making plays on offense. And just building momentum throughout the game really helped us.”

UCLA is 23-2 when leading by halftime for the season and they are 22-0 this year when they hold their opponents to under 66 points.

This is UCLA’s fifth Sweet 16 in the last nine years.

Coach Cronin gave his initial thoughts on his team’s Sweet 16 opponent North Carolina.

“We were supposed to play in Vegas, so now we’re going to play in Philly with the season on the line…They’re playing well. To beat Baylor, who’s top five. They beat Duke at Duke. Can’t be playing — beat Marquette. You can’t be playing better than Carolina is playing. They’re shooting the lights out.”

UCLA returns to the Sweet 16 and will take on the No. 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday, March 25 in Philadelphia, PA.

UCLA Escapes Akron 57-53 in First Round of March Madness

Brianne Ingram

March 17, 2022

03172022_Bruins_vs_Zips_092347 — The UCLA Bruins take on the Akron Zips in the first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament in Portland, Or on March 17,2022. (Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News)

Portland, OR – The No. 4-seed UCLA Bruins (26-7) fought tooth and nail in a 57-53 comeback victory and closed with a 15-4 run to escape the No. 13-seed Akron Zips (24-10) on Thursday night at the Moda Center in Round 64 of the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

“Great win for us,” said UCLA head coach Mick Cronin. “We finally got some shots to go down, we made some adjustments, gutted it out. Keys in the second half for us were Jaime had six assists. We only turned it over twice in the second half, which allowed us to get enough shots to where we finally started making some. Also, offensive rebounding in the second half.”

The UCLA Bruins take on the Akron Zips in the first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament in Portland, Or on March 17,2022. (Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News)

With the Bruins struggling offensively, Tyger Campbell took matters into his own hands in crunch time to score eight straight points and knocked down two soul crushing threes with three minutes remaining.

He first hit a wide-open corner three with not a Zip in sight. He then turned right around and drained a logo three to give the Bruins a four-point lead 55-51 with a minute and sixteen seconds left on the clock.

“My teammates just kept finding me, and I just was wanting to make a play,” said Campbell. “I knew down the stretch, Coach made some adjustments, and I just wanted to execute on them, and the shots went in.”

Just like that, an Akron layup brung the Zips to within two 55-53.

It came down to the wire as the Zips had the ball with 25.2 seconds to go.

Akron’s Ali Ali drove hard to the basket, but the ball came nowhere near close to the rim.

On the other end, Johnny Juzang hit two clutch free throws to mail in UCLA’s ticket to the second round.

Jules Bernard shared how UCLA’s past tournament experiences helped in this comeback win.

“We’re a resilient team, and we have a great camaraderie, and we know we’ve been in positions like that before, and we knew the caliber of team we were playing.”

Campbell led all Bruins with 16 points and five assists.

Juzang averaged 22 PPG in last year’s tournament, but only scored 9 points for the game.

Akron’s Xavier Castaneda led all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds.

The Bruins advanced from the First Four to the Final Four one year ago and lost to Gonzaga in the national semifinals.

For the fifth time in school history, the Akron Zips played in March Madness after winning the 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament.

The UCLA Bruins advance to the second round and will face the No. 5-seed Saint Mary’s Gaels on Saturday, March 19 at 4:10 p.m. for a shot to return to the Sweet Sixteen.

Memphis upsets Boise in the paint

Jevone Moore

March 17, 2022

03172022_BoiseSt_vs_memphis_083213 — The Boise St. Broncos take on the Memphis Tigers in the First round of the NCAA March Madness tournament in Portland, Or on March 17,2022. (Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News)

Portland, OR – No. 9 Memphis Tigers forward DeAndre Williams drops the first bucket of the game to set the tone in the first half. They jumped out to a 19-point lead at the half, then managed to hold on for a 64-53 victory over the No. 8 Boise State Broncos.

Williams led his team playing a team high 32 minutes with 14 points and five rebounds. Center Jalen Duren had a double double with a team high 11 rebounds and 10 points.

The Boise St. Broncos take on the Memphis Tigers in the First round of the NCAA March Madness tournament in Portland, Or on March 17,2022. (Photo by Evan Luecke / fi360 News)

“Coach kept telling us it’s a game of runs,” said Duren, “Knowing we gotta lock in and be ready for the next game.”

The Tigers shot 47% from the field, and 41.7% from behind the arc, while the Broncos slow start cost them shooting only 31.5% from the field. Boise did out score the Tigers in the second half by eights points but the defect was too big to recover.

Most will wonder was it halftime adjustments for the Broncos or Memphis guard Alex Lomax tweaking his ankle as cause for the shift of momentum.

Tigers coach Penny Hardaway trusted his players to play through some adversity, and only looked to call time-out sparingly to slow down the Broncos flow.

“Fantastic win for us tonight,” said Memphis coach Hardaway, “We dug in deep to get our first win.”

When the Tigers defense was set, it really gave the Broncos fits who plays its best basketball in the halfcourt sets.

Broncos did come alive in the second half but used to much energy catching up while the Tigers just kept steady to hold on to advance to second round. Now the Tigers will sit back and wait Gonzaga if they can win to set up No. 1 vs No. 9 second round in the west.

Kraken fast start fizzles out in loss to Lightning

Charles Hamaker

March 16, 2022

NelsonAaron_Seattle_TampaBay_3_16_2022-21 — Photo by Aaron Nelson / fi360 News

Seattle, WA – The Seattle Kraken fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning by
a score of one to four in their March 16th matchup. Pregame, the team
honored defenseman and team captain Mark Giordano for playing in
1,000 games. Former Lightning player Yanni Gourde scored the
game’s first goal just three minutes in to the opening period. After that,
it was all Tampa Bay as the Lightning scored four unanswered goals.

One of the few positive notes to take from the game was captain Mark
Giordano being honored for playing in 1,000 games. The first captain
in Kraken franchise history was given a silver stick to commemorate
the achievement, his teammates bought Giordano a Rolex, and his
family was on hand to celebrate. Despite not putting up flashy
numbers, Giordano has been a fan favorite ever since he was
selected in the expansion draft. It was an interesting night for
Giordano, as the morning before the game it was announced that he
wouldn’t participate in the game. This comes as no surprise, as
Giordano is extremely likely to be traded before the March 21st
deadline.

A glaring negative in this game was that Seattle gave the Lightning,
the back-to-back defending champions, six power play opportunities.
The Lightning power play has been together for years, winning those
two Stanley cup titles in that span. Their chemistry makes the
Lightning special teams’ unit as dangerous as any in the NHL, and
Seattle learned that the hard way. Seattle’s own power play suffered,
as despite the Kraken drawing 5 penalties, only one resulted in a goal.2
Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol reflected on the special teams play
in the game.

“Tampa’s gonna get their pushes. We took too many penalties in the
first 40 minutes…. first four in the first couple of periods puts you in a
tough spot. There was a lot of special teams both ways, so the flow
was a little stop and go… that third goal thanks to some mass chaos
created some separation for them,” Hakstol reflected.

The Kraken sit at an awkward point in the season. A trade of captain
Mark Giordano has been in the cards for a few months, and now the
NHL trade deadline draws near. It was announced the morning of the
game that Giordano was being held out of the lineup. No injury, no
illness, just held out. Teammate Calle Jarnkrok was traded to
Giordano’s former team, the Calgary Flames, just two hours prior to
puck drop. With a quality forward being traded hours before a game
and the team captain on the move next, the Kraken are in an odd
position. Alternate captain Jordan Eberle spoke on the business of the
NHL.

“It’s part of the business. We understand the situation that we’re in,
guys are gonna get traded. They’re gonna do what’s best for the
organization. It happens every year, so it should really be no
surprise… we’re big boys. It’s a league based on winning, a business
based on winning. When you’re not doing that, changes have to be
made and you have to do what is best for the organization… at the
end of the day, we are still trying to be here. We have 20 games to
see who wants to be here,” Eberle stated.

What Eberle said at the end there should be important to Kraken fans.
A player wearing an alternate captain patch, an All-Star this year,3
stated that he wants to be here and wants to see who else feels the
same. Seattle should have a solid core heading into next year
hopefully of McCann, Eberle, Gourde, Schwartz. The team will have
Matty Beniers up next year and another high draft pick this season. In
addition to all that, general manager Ron Francis said that the team
expects to be aggressive in free agency. The tools for the Kraken to
be successful next season are available. They just need to be used
correctly.

Seattle’s next matchup is March 19th against the Detroit Red Wings at
Climate Pledge Arena, with a 7PM PST puck drop.

Arizona Wildcats outlast UCLA to win Pac-12 Tournament trophy

Isabel Gonzalez

March 12, 2022

20220312-CH2V8054 — Photo by Jerry Kelly

Las Vegas, NV – Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats were predicted to finish fourth in the Pac-12 during preseason. On Saturday night, they lifted the conference tournament trophy with an 84-76 win against the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena.

Before being named the Arizona men’s basketball head coach in 2021, Lloyd was an assistant at Gonzaga for 22 seasons. He has certainly proven himself.

“My only objective has been to pour into these guys everything I got,” Lloyd said. “That’s how I’ve attacked it on a daily basis.”

Arizona entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation, while the Bruins were No. 13. It’s been an exciting season for the Wildcats, and Arizona fans were easily found all over Las Vegas.

It seemed like the team fed off that energy. The Wildcats found an early 6-2 lead while the Bruins offense was still getting warmed up. UCLA started 2-of-7 from the field. By the first media timeout, It was a 10-4 lead for Arizona.

The Bruins woke up and the game was tied at 16 points at the 10:25 mark. UCLA was up by three with 6:30 remaining in the first period. Redshirt senior center Myles Johnson tried to extend the lead but Arizona’s redshirt sophomore center Oumar Ballo blocked the shot. That defense turned into offense and Arizona’s Adama Bal got a three-pointer.

Sophomore forward Azuolas Tubelis hit the Bruins with a dunk in Arizona’s last possession of the first half, but junior guard Johnny Juzang went on to register a three-pointer to give UCLA a 40-35 advantage at halftime.

The Bruins came out strong after the break and found a 12-point lead three minutes into the second period. However, the Wildcats came back with a vengeance.

https://twitter.com/cisabelg/status/1502855963551752193?s=20&t=XljZo9nqaYyqDRKGi5sBsg

Arizona had a 61-58 lead with nine minutes remaining and UCLA was forced to call a timeout to try to stop the momentum. At this point, the Wildcats were outshooting the Bruins 64.3 % to 31.6% percent in the second period. After the timeout, UCLA’s Jules Bernard attempted a three-point shot that got blocked by Pelle Larsson.

The highlight of the game for Arizona was an exclamation mark type of dunk by Dalen Terry with 5:45 remaining on the clock.

https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1502860768680808448?s=20&t=PBP9u7a_yDXolkvCLe8KOA

Arizona finished the night shooting at 52% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Wildcats beat the Bruins in the paint 40-32.

Sophomore guard/forward Bennedict Mathurin led the winning offense with 27 points and seven assists. Terry contributed with 15 points and another seven assists, while Christian Koloko registered a double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“These games are long and we’re a team that makes runs,” Lloyd said. “I’m always like, ‘Hang in there, hang in there, we could be a possession or two away from a run.’ We did a good job of hanging in there.”

With Saturday’s win, Wildcats have likely earned their place as a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.

Bruins bear down to outlast rival USC in Pac-12 Tournament

Alex Hymes

March 11, 2022

20220311-CH2V0011 — Photo by Jerry Kelly

Las Vegas, NV – The Bruins faced cross-town rival USC in a tone-setting defensive performance.

Last years’ Bruins squad stunned the NCAA and fans with their wild Final Four run last postseason. Will this be the spark that starts another wild March Madness for the Bruins?

All of the evidence is pointing towards that notion… Including the recurring come-back after a slow start.

While the Trojans started the game hot, the Bruins quickly shifted the momentum and clamped down defensively.

The Bruins held USC forward Isaiah Mobley with an unusually quiet four-point 1st half while guard Boogie Ellis knocked three triples to keep USC afloat. UCLA held the Trojans to a measly 9-29 shooting in the first half of action.

On the other end, The Bruins balanced offensive attack was led by Jamie Jaquez with an 11-point first half. Jaquez’s play elevated his teammates including Jules Bernard. Bernard would have an eight-point first half which included a five-point swing, pushing to a Bruins 27-19 lead.

The tone was set, but the second half action provided an opportunity for the rival Trojans. USC cut the deficit to four points, but the Bruins conversely got hot offensively. Jaquez led the charge with 19 points and 5 rebounds, while four other members of the starting five added double-figure scoring.

USC’s standout Boogie Ellis heated up and nailed five triples for 18 of his 27 total points. Ellis stood tall but his teammates combined for a total of 32 points, including 7 bench points from Kobe Johnson. The Trojans couldn’t buy a basket and their struggles led them into playing defense for the majority of the evening.

UCLA guard Tyger Campbell was quick to note in the postgame presser that, “When we went on our run last reason, we locked in on the defensive side of the ball. Coach preaches defense, defense, defense, so we’re trying to lock in again.”

The Bruins’ victory sets them up for their first Pac-12 title game since winning the National Championship back in 2014. This win over their cross-town rival has added an even more interesting fold to what will come in this years’ March Madness.

Chippy Play Verse The LAFC Way

Alex Hymes

March 7, 2022

Crop-3728 — Photo by Chanel Foster / fi360 News

Los Angeles, CA – For the third match of their fifth season, LAFC hosted what some call their “greatest rival” in the Portland Timbers for a late, Fifty-five degree Sunday evening match-up. What nobody expected was the diverting styles and aggressive play which were on full display.

Portland’s Yimmi Chara stunned the crowd early, by corralling a ricocheted ball with an acrobatic bicycle kick for the match’s opening score.

On the over end, Portland’s defense smothered LAFC mightily, holding the club to zero shots on goal for the first twenty-seven minutes of play. The stifling defense dropped back and held firm in the box, preventing clear passing lanes and stagnant possessions for LAFC.

The clearest chance of the half came in the thirty-third minute when forward Carlos Vela fired a clean look from outside the box, which was swatted away by a diving Aljaž Ivačič. After a first half that included multiple turnovers and three yellow cards called on Portland, LAFC trotted into the locker room seemingly devoid of any emotional luster.

Prior to the second half tip, it was announced that Vela would not return, Head Coach Steve Cherundolo would later note as “Precautionary we’re still accessing what exactly what it is but doesn’t seem severe.” Without Vela, the other two members of the “Big 3”, Cristian Arango and Brian Rodriguez led the way.

Arango began the second half on an offensive tear by weaving through the Portland defense, which ultimately coaxed out the chippier side from the Timbers. In the 62nd minute, Arango forced Claudio Bravo into grabbing his arm and impeding his path, leading to Bravo’s second yellow card and ejection. LAFC took advantage of Portland playing one man down and began chipping away at the once-stifling defense.

Seven total yellow cards on the Timbers granted five minutes of stoppage time to tie the match. In the third minute of stoppage time, midfielder Brian Rodriguez weaved into the box and crossed to Mamadou “Mbacke” Fall for the game-tying score. Rodriguez beat his defender and found an open Fall, who tapped it into the corner of the net. Portland held possession for the final moments of stoppage time, ending the match in a draw of 1.

Leaving a cold, Sunday evening in Los Angeles with a tie from a match featuring 7 penalties and missing your captain for all of the second half, I call that a win. Yet, the insecurities surrounding the health of their stars are cause for concern. The club sits at third in their division with thirty-one more games to play. It’s too early to make any judgments, but LAFC and its fans have high hopes for the clubs’ fifth season of existence.

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North Carolina Denies UCLA’s Bid to Elite Eight

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Kraken offensive barrage in third period completes 4-2 comeback win over Red Wings

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