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  • No. 9 UCLA Men's Hoops Holds Off Utah as the Bruins Survive on the Road to Win, 63-58

No. 9 UCLA Men's Hoops Holds Off Utah as the Bruins Survive on the Road to Win, 63-58

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Basketball

Johnny Juzang scored a season-high 28 points to lead the No. 9-ranked UCLA men's basketball team past Utah, 63-58, in a Pac-12 contest at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Thursday.

Juzang scored 18 of his team-leading 28 points before halftime. The 6-foot-7 junior made 9 of 13 shots and sank 3 of 5 attempts from 3-point range.

Jules Bernard tallied 14 points as the Bruins' only other player to score at least 10 points.

UCLA (12-2, 4-1 Pac-12) trailed Utah by a 32-31 margin at halftime and never led by more than five points until the game's final minute.

Utah (8-11, 1-8 Pac-12) received a team-high 18 points from Lazar Stefanovic. Both Gach tallied 11 points as the Runnin' Utes' only other player to score in double figures.

The Bruins' showdown against Utah featured 10 lead changes and nine ties. UCLA trailed 54-51 with 5:23 to play in regulation after a 3-point basket by Utah's Gach. The Bruins answered with a 3-pointer by Bernard at the 4:59 mark to tie the contest, 54-54.

UCLA capitalized with consecutive baskets by Tyger Campbell (at 3:44) and Juzang (at 2:51) to lead by two possessions with under three minutes to go.

The Bruins made five of their final six free throw attempts, all with under two minutes to play, to help seal the victory.

Utah trailed the Bruins, 61-58, with under 20 seconds to play and missed a pair of 3-point attempts. Bernard corralled the ball for UCLA, drew a foul and sank a pair of free throws.

UCLA had opened the game with a 12-3 scoring run and had scored the contest's first seven points. Juzang made his first three shot attempts, scoring eight of the Bruins' first 12 points in the game.

With his 28-point effort at Utah, Juzang has now scored at least 20 points in the Bruins' last three games. He has scored at least 10 points in all but one game for the Bruins this season.

The Bruins will return to action at Colorado on Saturday evening in a Pac-12 contest at the CU Events Center (in Boulder, Colo.). Game time is 6 p.m. PT (7 p.m., MT in Colorado). UCLA's game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The radio broadcast in the Los Angeles area will be available on AM 570 (KLAC).