LOS ANGELES_Isaac Hamilton was like four quarters that jangled back into the coin hopper after UCLA had lost nearly everything in Las Vegas.
The senior managed two strong performances in what was an otherwise dreadful Pac-12 Conference tournament for the Bruins guards, which could have a carryover effect for the veteran in far more meaningful games.
Hamilton is perhaps UCLA's streakiest player, but he is on the upswing as the third-seeded Bruins (29-4) head into their NCAA tournament opener against 14th-seeded Kent State (22-13) on Friday evening at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Hamilton averaged a team-leading 21.0 points against USC and Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament, making 53.6 percent of his shots. The numbers weren't nearly as palatable for fellow guards Lonzo Ball, Bryce Alford and Aaron Holiday, who shot a combined 22.1 percent in those games.
"We haven't had very many games of that, to where we've had multiple guards not perform well," Coach Steve Alford said Tuesday. "It's usually been one guy hadn't had a good game and three guys lift him up."
Hamilton was doing most of the boosting at T-Mobile Arena, making a floater against the Trojans that gave the Bruins a late five-point lead in an eventual two-point victory. He also made five of his team's 13 three-pointers in the two games.
"I think I was just in great rhythm, got a lot of open looks and they fell," Hamilton said, "so just continue to do it and maintain it all of March."
Hamilton thrived for most of November and December, averaging 16.8 points and scoring in double figures in every nonconference game. His scoring average dipped to 11.4 points in Pac-12 play, when he scored in single figures eight times and made only 31.2 percent of his three-pointers.
He's averaged 17.8 points over his last four games.
"It puts you at a state that you can make shots now," Hamilton said of his recent strong play. "You look at shots and now your confidence is at an all-time high. Now it's just maintaining it."
