WATCH: Amari Bailey, Jaylen Clark on UCLA Beating Oregon State

Bailey and Clark combined for 40 points on 17-for-26 shooting against the Beavers on Thursday night.

UCLA men's basketball guards Amari Bailey and Jaylen Clark spoke with the media following the Bruins' 62-47 win over Oregon State on Thursday night. Bailey talked about his career night and the importance of high-percentage shots of, while Clark talked about breaking out of his slump and preparing for Saturday's game against Oregon.

AMARI BAILEY

Is that what it looks like when your game is on?

Uh, I would say so. Well, in practice today, we were just looking for the open man and the open man is the right option, so I was the open man and trying to make some plays on defense to get easy transition buckets.

How big of a part of your game are high-percentage shots?

Um, I mean, getting downhill is a big part of my game, just creating for myself and others, I love seeing my teammates eat more than me, so it just so happened to be might night.

What did that feel like?

It felt great. I was just looking for instant offense with it starting on defense, and when we were able to get collective group stops and push in transition, you get to see more glimpses in my game.

People talk about Tyger and Jaime – when you and Jaylen are going like that, how much does it take you to the next level?

I mean, just because Tyger and Jaime are our core and when Rock and I are blazing like that, you can’t double Jaime and tag off Tyger, you have to pick your poison at that point.

Defense?

Energy and effort, when we were late on the pindowns, we hard switched, we got into the passing lane and that generated instant offense.

Looking forward to a chance to win on Oregon's court?

For sure. That’s another opportunity. 

JAYLEN CLARK

Alter ego?

That’s my guy, I’ve been knowing A.B., I remember my freshman year we played him when he was on that loaded team and then my senior year, we played them three times, they still cheated us in the championship, you can run the tape, B.J. Boston [?] throws them, yeah, it’s different going against him to playing with him because he’s a whole different person off the court, like that kid you see off the court, he acts like he’s 12, if you know what I mean, but he’s also like 18 [17, actually], so sheesh, I think later month, so he’s super young, super talented, a lot of upside, so I’m happy to see him go ahead and crack off 24.

Defense?

It was good. Until the final four minutes, I think, they were in the 30s. I don’t know exactly where they were but I thought we were going to hold them under 40 points, which I feel like is pretty crazy in a college game, college atmosphere. I mean, this one’s over now, we’re looking forward to going back down to Eugene.

How do you feel after hitting a lot of shots to break out of your slump?

Aw, really good. At the end of the day, this thing’s a game, if you know what I mean? There’s going to be highs and lows—I’ve had the highest of highs and lowest of lows, if you know what I mean. My season’s been all over but I just be looking back at how fun this is whether it’s from drilling the three against USC to that final dunk against Kentucky, I’ve enjoyed my season this year and that’s the thing I’m happiest about. Whatever happens after the season, that’s going to take care of itself when the final ball tips, hopefully April 4, but other than that, man, I ‘m just happy that my team’s winning and if we win, we all win, if you know what I mean, in the end.

When you and Amari are cracking on offense, how much does that take the team to the next level?

Oh, immensely. I mean, that will get Jaime one on one, on the low end, that low, post, mid-post area, Jaime’s probably the best player in the world right now in that area, so if we can get people to stop double-teaming him and leave him alone, we’ll be really hard [to defense] and he’ll be a lot more one on one and open shots and we excel in that aspect.

How much do you want to beat Oregon at Oregon?

Oh, that’s the biggest goal. That’s why we came out here. Up to this year, we hadn’t beat them in general, I think, and then we get them at home. Winning at home, that’s easy, you’ve got your fans, the fans are going to give you [inaudible] wins, you’re going to be pumped up, we’ve got to go in there, play some more, I don’t know what the score is against USC, hopefully they beat USC so we can catch them slipping because if they lose they’re going to come breathing fire because I think they’re on the First Four Out, so these are must-win games if they want to have a postseason.

Hard to shoot on their court?

I like the court. Everybody says they don’t like the court, I personally like the court, I think it’s cool. I like the design. Yeah. I love Phil Knight, like everything. I love Nike, all that.

Get over to Beaveron, Niketown?

No, my parents are going tomorrow. I gave my mom my credit card, so she’s going to FaceTime me and we’re going to get some stuff.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.