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UCLA guard Johnny Juzang, right, grabs a rebound in front of Washington State guard Isaac Bonton during the first half of Thursday’s game in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State forward DJ Rodman,shoots over UCLA guard David Singleton during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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UCLA guard Tyger Campbell, right, shoots next to Washington State guard Isaac Bonton during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State forward Aljaz Kunc, front, grabs a rebound next to UCLA guard Jaylen Clark during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State guard Isaac Bonton (10) shoots over UCLA forward Mac Etienne (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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UCLA guard Tyger Campbell, right, drives while pressured by Washington State center Dishon Jackson during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State guard Isaac Bonton, right, shoots while pressured by UCLA guard Jules Bernard during the second half of Thursday’s game in Pullman, Wash. Washington State won, 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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UCLA guard Johnny Juzang shoots next to Washington State guard Isaac Bonton during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State center Efe Abogidi (0) and UCLA guard Jake Kyman (13) go after a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State forward Aljaz Kunc shoots during the second half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against UCLA in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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UCLA guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., right, shoots over Washington State center Dishon Jackson during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State guard Ryan Rapp (22) grabs a rebound next to UCLA guard Jules Bernard (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State guard TJ Bamba shoots during the second half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against UCLA in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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UCLA coach Mick Cronin shouts to his players during the second half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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UCLA guard Jaylen Clark, front, shoots next to Washington State forward Aljaz Kunc, obscured, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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Washington State forward DJ Rodman (11) secures a rebound next to guard Isaac Bonton (10) and UCLA guard Jaylen Clark (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
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The Washington State bench celebrates during the second half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against UCLA in Pullman, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Washington State won 81-73. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Washington State delivered an early dagger, then kept driving the knife deeper.
Noah Williams scored six straight points to begin the second half, extending the Cougars’ lead to 16 points. Isaac Bonton made back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 62-39 with 11:42 left.
Washington State got its revenge for the 30-point loss UCLA handed the Cougars on Jan. 14 with an 81-73 Pac-12 win over the Bruins on Thursday night in Pullman.
The Bruins did have a counter punch, but it came too late. UCLA (13-5 overall, 9-3 Pac-12) used a full-court press that flustered Washington State in the final minutes and cut the margin to 78-71 with 1:09 left – as close as it had been since the opening minutes of the game – but Bonton helped close it out from the free-throw line.
“It was too late when we turned it on,” UCLA point guard Tyger Campbell said of the press. “We can’t let it get to that point.”
Bonton finished with 26 points, including four 3s. He also added five rebounds and five assists. Washington State (11-8, 5-8 Pac-12) finished 13 for 22 (59 percent) from 3-point range.
“Defense is our issue. We didn’t get the job done at the 3-point line,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “We lost 39 to 15 at the 3-point line.”
UCLA forward Cody Riley tried to play on his sprained right ankle, which kept him out of the Bruins’ last game against USC, but he struggled. Riley played just 10 minutes, scored four points and fouled out.
Johnny Juzang led UCLA with 25 points (17 in the second half) on 7-for-18 shooting, and Tyger Campbell added 17 points and five assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr. was the third leading scorer with just seven.
The team was also without center Jalen Hill, who is not with the team due to personal reasons.
“Cody is a strong, talented player, it’s tough not having him out there,” Juzang said. “We still found a way to score decently, but (giving up) 81 is just way too much.”
Riley started the game, but only played six minutes of the first half. His absence showed offensively. The Bruins shot 44% from the field, including a 5-for-20 showing from beyond the arc.
“It had nothing to do with his ankle,” Cronin said of Riley. “I love him, he’s been a great player for us, but tonight was unacceptable.”
Riley had two fouls in the first half but picked up his third and fourth within the first 56 seconds of the second half.
UCLA, which was coming off an 18-point loss to USC, led 12-10 at the 14:10 mark of the first half before a DJ Rodman 3-pointer gave the Cougars a lead they never relinquished.
Rodman – a SoCal native from JSerra High – made three consecutive 3-pointers to start the game, giving him nine of the Cougars’ first 14 points as they made their first four 3-point attempts.
However, Rodman was just the spark. Bonton made a step-back 3 to open a 25-18 lead, then Kunc Aljaz made another 3 moments later to put UCLA in an 11-point hole (29-18) with 6:10 left in the opening half.
Washington State finished the first half with seven 3-pointers and held a 42-32 lead at halftime.
Kunc finished the game with 13 points off the bench and Rodman added 11.
The Bruins have dropped three of their last four games, but Campbell said their confidence has not wavered.
“The confidence is never not there,” Campbell said of getting back on track. “We go into every game knowing we can play.”
UCLA will take on Washington Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
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