UCLA Bruins forward Adem Bona (3) is fouled on his way to the basket by the Stanford Cardinal forward Spencer Jones (left) during the first half at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Wed Feb 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (11-11, 6-6 Pac-12) could not withstand the sharp claws of the University of California – Los Angeles Bruins (12-11, 7-5 Pac-12), 82-74, in their LAST Pacific – 12 Battle on the Farm.

Although the LA bears took a 3-0 lead to start the game, the Palo Alto squad came back to go ahead momentarily. Both teams traded leads and had multiple ties during the first 20-minute block, Both had 5-point leads , while Stanford had an 8-0 run, UCLA had a 6-0 of their own push.

Despite no player for the Cardinal reaching double-figures in the First 20, senior Brandon Angel provided eight points for the home team. The Bruins leader at the half was freshman Sebastian Mack, with his 12 points, lady ng everyone in the gymnasium.

At intermission, the visitors from Westwood had a 2-point lead. UCLA 35, Stanford 33.

In the second half, the Bruins had an 8-0 run and held leads as high as 8 points. Stanford managed to get a 50-49 lead near the midway point of the second half. However, UCLA was able to stave them off the rest of the game.

Stanford was perfect from the line most of the game, until (1:25) less than two minutes left in the game, when Maxime Raynaud missed the first of his three misses. UCLA, on the other hand, was horrid from the line for the game, until late in the second half. They ended with a respectable 77% from the line at game’s end.

The Cardinal tried to overtake their southern California opposition, with three players tallying double figure scoring. Raynaud had a double-double (20 points & 10 rebounds), Brandon Angel (12) and Spencer Jones (15). Their 15 turnovers did not help, and the bruins 7 more made threes and 9 more FT’s was a huge contributing factor in the team’s downfall.

The Bruins presented five hoopers with 10+ points on the stat sheet. They were led by the aforementioned Mack (21) with 4 made threes. His 6 missed free throws kept him in the low 20’s. The other four: Aden Bona (16), Dylan Andrews (13), Will McClendon (13), and Lazar Stefanovic (10).

After the 40 minutes of regulation time ended, the UCLA Bruins maintained their largest lead (8) for the final score, 82-74.

The Cardinal will next be in action hosting the USC Trojans, Saturday, February 10, at Maples at 7 PM on ESPN2/U. The Bruins cross the Bay to take on California on the same date at 2:30 PM on FOX.