On Thursday, Stanford men’s basketball fell to #4 UCLA on the road by a final score of 73-64. UCLA guard/forward Jaime Jaquez, Jr. led the way for the Bruins with 26 points and 9 rebounds while guard Jaylen Clark had 16 points and 6 rebounds. Stanford guard Michael Jones (15 points), forward Harrison Ingram (13 points, 7 rebounds, & 5 assists), and center Maxime Raynaud (12 points, 10 rebounds, & 1 block) scored in double figures for the Cardinal. UCLA improves to 22-4 overall and 13-2 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 11-15 overall and 5-10 in the Pac-12.
Stanford got off to a strong start, leading 13-7 with 14:55 to go in the first half. Raynaud and Ingram each had 4 points for the Cardinal. Clark was leading UCLA with 5 points. Stanford was shooting 6-7 from the field while UCLA was shooting 3-8.
Stanford would stay in front, leading 15-14 with 11:37 to go in the half. Stanford hadn’t scored in the last 2:24. They needed to get a bucket. Clark was up to 7 points for UCLA while Raynaud’s 6 points led the Cardinal.
With 7:28 to go in the half, Stanford led 24-16. Michael O’Connell was up to 4 points with a couple of nice buckets inside for the Cardinal. Stanford was shooting 11-20 from the field while UCLA was shooting 6-18.
Stanford would then lead 29-23 with 3:02 to go in the half. Spencer Jones was on the bench with two fouls for the Cardinal while Harrison Ingram was playing with two fouls. Isa Silva was finally on the board for the Cardinal after slicing to the rim. They were hanging tough.
Stanford would stay in front to lead 31-27 at halftime. Michael Jones and Maxime Raynaud each had 6 points for the Cardinal. Raynaud also had 7 boards. Jaime Jaquez was leading UCLA with 9 points.
UCLA started the second off on a 10-2 run, leading 37-33 with 18:23 to go after a steal and a dunk from Clark. Stanford called for time, hoping to calm the waters.
UCLA would continue to maintain their lead, going up 43-38 with 16:00 to go. Jaquez and Clark were up to 12 points each for the Bruins. Stanford needed someone to heat up. Maxime Raynaud’s 8 points and 7 rebounds was leading the Cardinal.
Stanford would then go on a 12-0 run over the next 3:08 to lead 50-45 with 11:32 to go. Michael Jones was up to 13 points on 5-8 shooting from the field and 3-4 shooting from 3-point range while Spencer Jones was up to 6 points after a corner triple. The Cardinal were not going away.
UCLA would then pull ahead to go up 58-57 with 6:42 to go. Jaime Jaquez, Jr. was up to 22 points and 6 rebounds for the Bruins while Michael Jones had 15 points to lead the Cardinal. Spencer Jones had 4 fouls but would not sit for long. The Cardinal really needed him to finish the game if they were to have any chance of winning.
Over the next few minutes, Stanford would start to fade a bit. With 2:08 to go, UCLA led 63-59 as foul shots were coming for them. Stanford had put up quite a fight, but the Bruins were wearing them down.
In the end, it would be a 73-64 victory for UCLA. Stanford just wasn’t able to get across the finish the line with the win. They played UCLA really tough and certainly played like the kind of team that they’ve been over these past 9-10 games. The Cardinal are playing a lot better and this game showed it.
For UCLA, this is a game where you’re just happy you won. Stanford has been playing much better as of late and have shown they are a very dangerous team. UCLA just has to be happy they didn’t stub their toe and found a way to pull this out.
As for Stanford, they can hold their head high after this loss knowing that they followed up a win over #4 Arizona with a close loss on the road against the new #4 team UCLA. They’re playing much better during these past 9-10 games and this game certainly was a continuation of that trend even though it was a loss.
At the same time, it’s still a loss and they didn’t come to Pauley Pavilion to play UCLA close. They came to win. They’re also in such a hole record-wise that they can’t really take any solace in “moral victories.” At this point, all they can do is apply the lessons they learned from this game and carry with them into their next game.
On that note, Stanford’s next game will be on Saturday at USC. That will tipoff at 7:00 PM PT on ESPNU.
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