Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 08, 2018

UCLA guard Aaron Holiday sliced and diced Stanford to the tune of a career-high 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds Thursday, as the Bruins defeated the Cardinal 88-77 in the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.

Holiday made 12-of-25 field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 behind the arc. Thomas Welsh added 18 points and 11 rebounds for UCLA, which advances to the semifinals against No. 15 Arizona.

KZ Okpala led Stanford with 23 points. Reid Travis added 17 points and a team-high 14 rebounds for the Cardinal (18-15).

The Bruins (21-10) started quickly, withstood a late first-half Stanford run and maintained a consistent lead over the Cardinal in the second half. UCLA hit seven of its first 11 shots, building a 30-17 lead before Stanford responded with a 15-2 run to tie the game at 32-32.

Stanford closed its deficit to 44-40 by halftime, but, with point guard Daejon Davis in foul trouble, never could make a sustained comeback. Davis committed his fourth personal foul one minute and six seconds into the second half.

Going into the game, UCLA was considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, and Stanford had a slim chance to reach the bubble. The Cardinal won their first meeting with UCLA in double overtime, and the Bruins won by 16 at Pauley Pavilion in the teams’ last meeting.

Welsh became the 14th player in Pac-12 history to reach the 1,000-rebound plateau, now with 1,003 – fourth most in UCLA history. He passed the 1,000-point mark in December.

Stanford, whose chance to reach the NCAA Tournament dimmed considerably with the loss, is likely headed to the National Invitation Tournament.