LAS VEGAS — UCLA had just watched its best big man leave the floor with a scary left shoulder injury, and an eight-point lead shrink to three in the immediate aftermath of his absence. The Bruins, ranked second in the country, looked shell-shocked and on the verge of losing grip of their Pac-12 semifinal matchup with Oregon with 14:47 to play.
Senior guard Tyger Campbell answered with a soothing jumper. Nothing special, but enough to ease some worries in Westwood.
But it was a start of a run in which Campbell scored 11 of the Bruins’ next 13 points. A jumper off the backboard, another pull-up, a 3-pointer. Then, the coup de grace, a pull-up jumper with 7-footer Kel’el Ware closing in. The diminutive Campbell didn’t blink, draining the shot.
His efforts pushed top-seeded UCLA’s lead back to 11, and Campbell’s career-high 28 points pushed the Bruins to a 75-56 win over the fourth-seeded Ducks, clinching a spot in the Pac-12 championship game Saturday against the winner of Friday night’s Arizona-Arizona State game.
“I was just more worried about winning,” Campbell said of his heroic run. “Coach [Mick Cronin] called some great plays. Our bigs were getting me open on our ball screens and we were able to get the switch so I could get the shot that I wanted. So
Campbell added six assists while fellow senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The semifinal had a good tempo from the start. The teams each ran after rebounds to try to prevent the other from settling into its half-court defense. But after making its first two shots, UCLA (29-4) missed seven of next eight, with Jaquez seeing two attempts blocked.
Jaquez started the game 2 for 7 from the floor, and Campbell 2 for 8.
But a 3-pointer from senior David Singleton settled the Bruins. Freshman Dylan Andrews came off the bench and hit two quick jumpers before lobbing the ball to fellow freshman Adem Bona for a go-ahead dunk.
Bona picked up right where he left off Thursday, providing UCLA instant energy. He finished a second lob from Campbell and met Rivaldo Soares at the rim for a two-handed block. As he fell back to earth, Bona grabbed the rebound and passed it off before landing on his back. Campbell rewarded his efforts with a 3 on the other end.
He continued that work to start the second half, blocking N’Faly Dante at the rim before drawing a charge.
But after a collision at midcourt, Bona landed on his left shoulder and immediately began signaling for attention. Trainers from both teams tended to him and helped him off the court. He walked to the locker room with a trainer holding his left arm aloft gingerly.
Bona returned to the Bruins’ sideline without a wrap or ice around the injured shoulder, but kept his left arm cradled to his abdomen as he cheered on his teammates.
Cronin said after the game he had no update on Bona’s status for Saturday.
Bona had plenty to cheer about in those final minutes. He waved a towel over his head after backup Kenneth Nwuba soared in the air to block a shot at the rim and Singleton hit a triple on the other end to push the Bruins’ lead to 13 with 4:36 to play, then again when Jaquez made it back-to-back 3s, putting Oregon (19-14) away for good.
Even without the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year for the final 16:16 – and six days after losing Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Clark to a lower leg injury – UCLA held Oregon to 7 for 21 on its layup and dunk attempts. The Bruins blocked five shots, including two in eight minutes from Nwuba, who has been limited with a hip injury for much of the last month. And UCLA held the 6-foot-11, All-Pac-12 Dante to eight points on 3-for-11 shooting.
“It’s not how big you are,” Cronin said, “it’s how big you play.”
And no one represented that more than the 5-foot-11 Campbell.
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After a final 3-pointer to close the game by making nine of his final 13 shots, Campbell was taken out of the game, receiving a hearty applause from the UCLA fans at T-Mobile Arena.
The Bruins were going to the championship. Campbell had made sure it was so.
“He’s our closer,” Jaquez said. “We give him the ball, he brings it up the court, he takes care of it for us and gets us all in the right positions.”