UCLA, buoyed by big performances from Jamie Jaquez, completed their East Coast trip with a 2-0 mark after defeating Kentucky, 63-53, in the second game of the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Following a convincing victory over Maryland earlier in the week, the Bruins recorded their second top 25 win of the week, this time thanks in part to Jaquez’s 19-point, 12-rebound, 4-steal effort. Jaylen Clark added 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals of his own, while Tyger Campbell chipped in 15.
The Bruins led for the majority of the contest, having only trailed the Wildcats for 1:13 of gameplay, and never trailing after the 17:20 mark of the first half. During the first 20 minutes, UCLA forced 12 Kentucky turnovers and entered the break leading 35-27.
The Wildcats, paced by 14 points from Chris Livingstone, 11 from Shavir Wheeler and eight points and 16 rebounds from Oscar Tshiebwe, cut into the deficit and was down just two with 4:31 to play, but could not overcome the final deficit.