Peyton Watson shines, but UCLA sputters in win over Bellarmine before showdown with Gonzaga

LAS VEGAS — Jaime Jaquez Jr. ripped the shot retired of the hands of Bellarmine defender Dylan Penn, pushed the shot up the tribunal and lobbed a walk toward the rim arsenic hard-running freshman Peyton Watson was successful stride to the left.

Watson leaped to drawback the shot and threw it down for a thunderous dunk that provided a spark to what was different an underwhelming atmosphere. It was the commencement of a breakout nighttime for Watson, who finished with a career-high 19 points connected 9-for-12 shooting disconnected the seat to anchor UCLA’s 75-62 triumph implicit Bellarmine connected Monday nighttime astatine T-Mobile Arena.

Watson’s constituent total, which came successful conscionable 20 minutes, was much than his play full coming into Monday’s crippled (13). David Singleton added 13 points, including 3 3-pointers. Watson and Singleton scored 32 of the team’s 40 seat points aft Johnny Juzang (13 points), Tyger Campbell (two), Jules Bernard (five) and Jaquez (six) changeable a combined 11 for 40 from the field.

“Basketball is simple, you get what you deserve,” UCLA manager Mick Cronin said. “Two guys contiguous had large attitude, large practices: David Singleton and Peyton Watson. All you gotta bash is look astatine the stat sheet.”

If broadcaster Dick Vitale was calling the crippled Monday, the full arena would person heard his “Diaper Dandy!” catch-phrase to picture Watson’s show among the smattering of clapping and one-person “De-fense!” chants. There wasn’t adjacent 1 UCLA eight-clap.

But that won’t beryllium the lawsuit erstwhile Vitale returns to the microphone for the archetypal clip this play portion battling lymphoma to telephone Tuesday night’s showdown betwixt the second-ranked Bruins and No. 1 Gonzaga (7 p.m., ESPN).

If there’s immoderate worth successful comparing scores against communal opponents, Gonzaga defeated Bellarmine, 92-50, connected Friday successful Spokane, Washington.

UCLA (5-0) didn’t sprout peculiarly well, and that led to Bellarmine having conscionable a 10-point elevation to ascent with 2:08 left. But 4 consecutive baskets, including a country 3-pointer from Bernard successful the last infinitesimal kept the Knights (0-5) astatine bay.

“If we’re lone going to beryllium a large squad erstwhile we marque shots, we’re successful heavy trouble,” Cronin said.

The Bruins had conscionable 1 made escaped propulsion (1 for 6) successful the crippled to Bellarmine’s 13-for-13 showing. UCLA changeable 45 percent from the field, including an 8-for-27 effort from the 3-point line.

It was an opening enactment for a crippled that has generated each the buzz this week: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 2 UCLA. But to Cronin, it was an enactment that fell level connected its face.

“To me, this is simply a loss,” helium said. “The things that I attraction astir – hustle, attitude, effort, execution – get you wins erstwhile they truly count. To me, Bellarmine won successful each category.”

Watson and Singleton started the 2nd fractional successful spot of Juzang and Bernard. Maybe, it was a message.

“You shouldn’t travel to a schoolhouse if you don’t judge successful your coaches,” Cronin said. “This fallacy that coaching is simply a problem. In our program, you request to marque maine happy, past you get to play. When you effort and bash that each day, you get amended similar Peyton Watson. When you commencement trying to marque different radical happy, you’re not going to get to play a batch successful our program.”

The Bruins volition person to respond to their lackluster effort successful what was their archetypal roadworthy crippled of the play and effort to conscionable Cronin’s expectation, due to the fact that helium doesn’t deliberation his squad is acceptable for Gonzaga.

“No. Absolutely not,” Cronin said successful effect to a media subordinate who asked that precise question.