UCLA rebounds from early struggles to look like Pac-12 contender
UCLA seems to have put a rocky start to the season behind it and suddenly appears capable of contending for the Pac-12 Conferene title after handing No. 20 Gonzaga its second home loss in a week 71-66 Saturday night. 
The Bruins lost to Monmouth to start the season, got drilled against Kansas and dropped a game against Wake Forest, but have rebounded to beat two ranked teams in the past nine days. First it was an impressive victory over No. 1 Kentucky and now a road win against Gonzaga playing without Przemek Karnowski.
[Buzzer-beater against UNC gives Shaka Smart first big win at Texas]
The victory over Gonzaga was made even more impressive because the Bruins accomplished it playing largely with just six players. Prince Ali left the game in the first half with a left knee injury and freshman Alex Olesinski played just six minutes off the bench.
Isaac Hamilton led the Bruins with 20 points. Tony Pakrer added 16 and Bryce Alford scored 13. UCLA seems to be taking on the personality of its coach. The Bruins are scrappy and aren’t beating themselves with poor shot selection or turnovers.
[Wichita State gets the marquee win it needed against Utah]
Once again, Gonzaga was too dependent on forwards Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis for much of the game. They comdined to score 38 points and grab 16 rebounds. Eric McClellan emerged as third scorer in the second half. He finished with 14 points after scoring only three in the first half, but Gonzaga is still maturing in the backcourt and it has paid a price for that inexperience and lack of execution with consecutive Saturday home losses to Pac-12 perennial powers.
Gonzaga’s backcourt of McClellan, Josh Perkins and Silas Melson shot a combined 9-for-27, including making just two of 13 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs committed 12 turnovers.
– – – – – – –
[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
