LOS ANGELES — The freshman had never faced pressure like this.
Jaylen Clark sighed, dribbled three times and let the free throw go. It bounced off the front of the rim.
The game was still tied with 1.4 seconds left, UCLA needing Clark to make his second attempt to nudge it ahead in a game it looked destined to lose for 39 minutes.
Clark took the pass from the referee and repeated his routine. Three more dribbles. Release. It was good.
Just like that, the Bruins had the lead for the first time and had completed an improbable 80-79 comeback victory over Arizona State on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion after Clark put both hands up to contest Alonzo Verge Jr.’s half-court shot that was off the mark at the buzzer.
Clark was in position to give UCLA the win after grabbing an offensive rebound and getting fouled on a putback. But it was the stops the Bruins made in the final minutes that were the story, a surreal scene that unfolded with fake fan noise spurring them on with chants of “De-fense!”
UCLA was listening, getting its final stop when UCLA point guard Tyger Campbell finally got the best of Arizona State counterpart Remy Martin, stealing the ball from him with 39 seconds left and getting fouled. Campbell made both free throws to tie the score at 79-79. Sun Devils guard Holland Woods missed a three-pointer with 15 seconds left, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. grabbed the rebound and Campbell missed a running floater in the lane.
The ball went off the rim and into Clark’s hands, where he went back up strong and was fouled.
Jules Bernard patted Clark on the head after he made the second free throw, and his entire team mobbed him after the Bruins (16-5 overall, 12-3 Pac-12) moved into a first-place tie with USC atop the conference standings. The Trojans hold the tiebreaker, having beaten the Bruins earlier this month, but the teams meet again March 6 at Pauley Pavilion. USC also faces a more daunting schedule with makeup games against Oregon and Stanford shoehorned into the final two weeks of the regular season.
UCLA forward Cody Riley finished with 17 points, making all six of his shots, and Johnny Juzang added 12.
Before the final crazy sequence, UCLA didn’t just face the prospect of a rare home loss but a bad one.
The Bruins were off practically from the opening tip, spotting Arizona State a double-digit lead before scoring its first basket. The Bruins couldn’t hold onto the ball, a wayward inbounds pass sailing toward the sideline as part of a flurry of turnovers, or do much of anything to stop Martin.
The speck of a Sun Devils guard was a game-long nuisance, darting around defenders for jumpers and continually exasperating the Bruins with another basket every time they got close.
Martin more than made up for having missed the teams’ first meeting this season while attending a funeral, finishing with 25 points on eight-for-21 shooting, though his final shot bounced off the rim twice before falling into the Bruins’ hands.
The Sun Devils made 10 of 20 three-pointers but couldn’t get the ones they needed late.
Bernard added 11 points and Campbell had 10 for the Bruins, who extended their home winning streak to 18 games in most unlikely fashion.
Both teams were missing key contributors. UCLA was without guard Chris Smith (knee) and forward Jalen Hill (personal reasons). The Sun Devils were without star freshmen Josh Christopher (back) and Marcus Bagley (ankle).
The Bruins had just enough heart to persevere from their freshman guard who finished with just two points, both on free throws.
