Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs UCLA Bruins Match Player Stats On Dec 08, 2018

Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes buried the decisive 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to give UCLA a 65-62 victory over visiting Notre Dame on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Wilkes was helped off the floor with a leg cramp after making the shot and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Jaylen Hands had 12 points and 11 assists, junior guard Prince Ali also scored 12 points and freshman center Jalen Hill collected 11 rebounds for the Bruins (7-2).

Hill blocked a shot by freshman guard Prentiss Hubb with six seconds left to set up Wilkes' game-winning shot.

A half-court shot by Fighting Irish junior guard TJ Gibbs was short as time expired.

Senior guard Rex Pflueger hit all four of his 3-point attempts while scoring 14 points for Notre Dame (6-3). Sophomore guard D.J. Harvey added 13 points and three steals, and junior forward John Mooney contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.

It was the 49th meeting between teams that were huge intersectional rivals from 1966-96 but just the first matchup since Dec. 19, 2009. UCLA leads the series 29-20.

Both teams shot poorly. UCLA shot 34.3 percent and was 9 of 25 from 3-point range, while the Fighting Irish shot 36.4 and was 8 of 25 from long distance.

The Bruins held a 46-37 rebounding advantage.

Wilkes opened the second half with a three-point play to give the Bruins a 34-20 lead.

Pflueger buried a 3-pointer 66 seconds into the half to snap a string of 14 straight missed shots by the Fighting Irish.

A short time later, Notre Dame rattled off nine straight points and pulled within 39-35 after a basket by Gibbs with 15:28 remaining.

A jumper by Hands gave UCLA a 46-37 edge with 14:05 left, and the Bruins were up eight just past the midway point on a 3-pointer by freshman guard David Singleton.

The Irish answered with 12 straight points. Harvey scored five points during the run, Hubb made two free throws to give Notre Dame a 54-53 lead with 6:50 remaining and Gibbs culminated the run with a 3-pointer to make it a four-point lead with 5:53 left.

Pflueger's 3-pointer with 3:39 left gave the Irish a 62-57 lead before Ali scored five straight points to knot the score with 2:17 remaining.

UCLA scored the final 11 points of the first half to take a 31-20 lead into the break.

Notre Dame finished with 12 consecutive misses and shot just 22.9 percent in the half. The Bruins shot just 32.4 percent.

--Field Level Media