LOS ANGELES — Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and the No. 9 UCLA men’s basketball team defeated Washington State 76-52 on Saturday night to win its 21st consecutive home game.
The Bruins (19-4, 10-2 Pac-12) own the nation’s longest active home winning streak, including a 13-0 mark at Pauley Pavilion this season.
Washington State (10-15, 5-9) was without second-leading scorer DJ Rodman. The senior missed both games in Los Angeles because of illness. The Cougars were led by TJ Bamba with 19 points. Justin Powell added 17, hitting five three-pointers.
The Cougars lost to the Bruins by one point at home Dec. 30 after leading for over 35 minutes in the game. This time, WSU kept it close early in the first half before UCLA twice pulled away to leads of 10 points.
The Bruins dominated the second half. Jaquez scored 10 of their first 15 points. He had four in a row to lead an 11-0 run that stretched UCLA’s lead from single digits to 57-38.
The Cougars committed 11 of their 15 turnovers in the first half. UCLA scored 19 points off WSU’s miscues.
The Cougars are trending in the wrong direction with six games left in the regular season. They’ve lost five of six and two straight. Of their remaining games, two are against teams that are below them in the Pac-12 standings.
The Bruins have eight regular-season games remaining in which to preserve their Pac-12 lead. The biggest one comes at the end when they host No. 5 Arizona, the team chasing them in the standings. The Wildcats won 58-52 in Tucson last month, snapping UCLA’s 14-game winning streak.
Washington State hosts rival Washington next Saturday.