March 1st, 2017

The Bruins completed a season sweep of Washington on Wednesday night, but it came at cost.  UCLA defeated Washington 98-66, but they lost freshman forward TJ Leaf to an ankle injury.

Leaf played 5 minutes before spraining his left ankle.  However, it was the Bruin backcourt that took care of business in this one.  Bryce Alford led the way with 29 points, and Lonzo Ball scored 19 points, to go along with 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Huskies played without guard Markelle Fultz, which didn’t help their cause.  UCLA jumped all over them early, opening up a 21 point lead at halftime, and a 42 point lead in the 2nd half.

Leaf will be wearing a protective boot between now and Saturday’s game against Washington State, and will be seeking treatment in hopes of playing in the regular season finale.

Coach Steve Alford liked his teams effort from start to finish.  “We were engaged right from the beginning,”  Alford said. “Our guys really concentrated well in a lopsided game. We were really good in a lot of areas.”

Noah Dickerson tied his career high with 23 points for the Huskies . They have lost 11 in a row and 13 of 14.

The Bruins were the only team in the Pac 12 to go undefeated in the month of February.  Their 7-0 mark was the first time they had gone undefeated since the 1994-1995 season.  “I really don’t want to add any additional pressure, but that UCLA team could win a national championship,” said Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar.  The former UCLA assistant coach is right.