Notes: Adams’ career-high 31 points pushes UCLA past Washington

— Jordan Adams is hitting on all cylinders heading down the late stretch of the season. The sophomore guard lit up the Huskies for a career-high 31 points in UCLA’s 91-82 win — a total that could have easily been higher if not for a second-half bout with cramps.

Adams scored 10 of UCLA’s first 14 points to set the pace early, and established the offense by earning trips to the line. He also exited a good portion of the second half and didn’t score in the final eight minutes, but his last six points came when the Bruins only led by one point.

UCLA’s most natural scorer hitting his stride in March obviously bodes well for a team that’s angling for a top-five tournament seed. His free throw rate has dropped to 20th in the conference compared to 13th last season, but he his nine free throw attempts were his highest since Dec. 7. Continue reading “Notes: Adams’ career-high 31 points pushes UCLA past Washington” »

Jordan Adams secures single-season steals record, 1,000-point milestone

A little more than four minutes into the second half at Washington, Jordan Adams got his first steal of the night. His second came 32 seconds later.

That sequence during UCLA’s 91-82 win gave the sophomore 83 steals on the season, good for the school’s single-season steals record. Cameron Dollar set the previous record of 82 in 1997. Continue reading “Jordan Adams secures single-season steals record, 1,000-point milestone” »

UCLA forces double-overtime thriller in 87-83 loss to Oregon

Pauley Pavilion nearly saw a miracle.

With 1:01 left on the game clock, UCLA was down seven points and missing its two best players.

The Bruins clawed their way through 11 more minutes, eventually falling 87-83 to Oregon in double overtime. Along the way, they left fans with arguably the most memorable game of the season.

Three hours before the 8 p.m. tipoff, the team had announced the suspensions of point guard Kyle Anderson and leading scorer Jordan Adams.

With little time the prepare, UCLA (21-7, 10-5) went almost the entire first half without an inside bucket and walked into the locker room in a 12-point hole.

No matter. With 1.2 seconds left in regulation, David Wear snuck behind the Ducks’ defense and streaked upcourt for a wide-open three. He caught an inbounds pass from his twin brother, Travis, and drilled a shot from some 30 feet away. Continue reading “UCLA forces double-overtime thriller in 87-83 loss to Oregon” »

Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams suspended one game for violation of team rules

UCLA’s already slim chances at catching Arizona for the Pac-12 lead may have just disappeared.

The team suspended leading scorers Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson one game each for a violation of team rules. They will sit out when the Bruins tip off against Oregon at 8 p.m. tonight. The pair combines to average 32.1 points — over a third of the squad’s total output — as well as 14.2 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 4.6 steals.

The Ducks have the conference’s second-highest scoring offense behind UCLA, and lost their prior matchup in Eugene by just two points. With four games left in the regular season, the Bruins sit 2.5 games behind the Wildcats for first place.

Likely in line for their first career starts are freshman guards Zach LaVine and Bryce Alford. LaVine scored 14 points at Stanford last Saturday, his first double-digit effort in nearly a month, while Alford has averaged 7.8 points and 2.3 assists in his last eight games.