LOS ANGELES—A short-handed Bellarmine University team fought hard but fell 81-60 to the No. 19/17 UCLA Bruins on Sunday afternoon in a non-conference game at historic Pauley Pavilion.
 
The host Bruins (5-2) got a stellar performance from Jaime Jaquez, Jr., who tossed in a game-high 27 points while hauling in seven rebounds.  Jaquez connected on 13 of his 17 field goal attempts in leading UCLA to a team shooting percentage of 60.8. Point guard Tyger Campbell posted a double-double for the Bruins with 10 points and 10 assists.
 
The Knights, who were playing without starting guard Juston Betz while also battling foul trouble, got career-highs from Ben Johnson (20) and Curt Hopf (16) to stay in contention. 
 
After falling behind by as many as 20 in the second half, the Knights battled back to trim the margin to just 10 at the 8:53 mark.  Bellarmine missed a couple of open looks from 3-point range to cut the deficit to just seven, and UCLA took control of the game with a 13-4 run.  The final margin of 21 points also equaled the game's largest lead.
 
"I saw fight tonight…there were a lot of positives," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport, who also lauded UCLA Coach Mick Cronin and the Bruin's effort. "That pressure was extraordinary.  We couldn't simulate that with seven guys, but we adjusted, and we never quit."
 
"To me, it's a learning environment you can't replicate," Davenport said. "I thought top to bottom, everybody learned today."  He added that his message to the team after game was, "there's not going to be one 'what if.' All our focus when we walk out of Pauley Pavilion is what's going to be.  How are we going to learn to learn from Duke? From Clemson? From Louisville? From UCLA?  They're smart young men, I had 17 heads bobbing, 'yes, yes, yes.' And that's how we left the locker room."
 
In the first half, the Knights felt the brunt of the Bruins' defensive pressure, committing 13 first half turnovers as UCLA grabbed a 43-27 halftime lead. Exacerbating matters for Bellarmine was foul trouble.   Garrett Tipton, who had eight early points, picked up his third foul with 8:33 remaining in the opening period.  Johnson also had to spend some time on the bench after picking up his third foul in the first half.
 
Coming out in the second half, the Knights found themselves in a 52-32 hole just 3:07 into the period.  However, Bellarmine responded with a 14-4 run as the Knights got hot from behind the arc.  First, Bash Wieland hit a triple and Hopf nailed three treys in a row as Bellarmine made a game of it. Unfortunately for the Knights, the visitors could get no closer as the Bruins responded with a run of its own to put the game out of reach.
 
For the game, the Knights finished with a season-high 11 3-pointers with six different players connecting from deep. Hopf led the way by nailing four of his eight 3-pointers. 
 
In addition to Betz sitting out, Bellarmine also was without Nick Thelen and Zac Jennings.  All three players were injured within 10 minutes of each other in Saturday's practice. Picking up some of the available minutes was redshirt freshman Jaylen Fairman, and he responded with team-highs in assists with five and rebounds with four.
 
Bellarmine, which was at a distinct height disadvantage, held its own on the backboards tying UCLA with 26 rebounds and owning a 14-5 advantage in second chance points. The Knights embraced the "gang rebounding" philosophy as four different players (Peter Suder, Hopf, Wieland, and Fairman) grabbed four boards to share team-high honors.
 
Bellarmine (2-5) now has a short turnaround before facing another top 20 team in another iconic venue.  The Knights will fly back Sunday night then have one day to prepare for the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Rupp Arena.
 
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COACH DAVENPORT POSTGAME COMMENTS: