LAS VEGAS — By earning the No. 2 seed for the Pac-12 Tournament, UCLA had the benefit of a bye into the quarterfinals. But there were two sides to that coin, as the Bruins looked like the rustier team at the start of their game against seventh-seeded Washington State on Thursday night. Shots weren’t falling, and players were failing to box out the more active Cougars.

But when senior guard Jules Bernard stepped into a 3-pointer just as the shot clock expired to retake the lead, it ignited a 21-2 run that put the Bruins in control and on their way to a 75-65 victory.

UCLA (24-6) was led by Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 23 points and 11 rebounds while Bernard added 19 points for the Bruins, who will face either No. 3 seed USC or No. 6 Washington in a semifinal on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“We were stuck in the mud a little bit,” head coach Mick Cronin said. “Jules made some big shots, got us going, got our energy level up.”

Both UCLA and Washington State (19-14) played to a standstill early. Neither team shot particularly well, but four Washington State 3-pointers, including back-to-back shots from Andrej Jakimovski, helped the Cougars take a 21-19 lead.

Even when a pair of Peyton Watson free throws tied the score, it felt like UCLA was still sleep-walking through the game. Until Bernard’s aforementioned 3-pointer and an adjustment on defense woke the Bruins from their slumber.

Cronin inserted reserves Myles Johnson, Jaylen Clark and Watson into the game, relying on their athleticism to help close out on Washington State’s shooters and prevent second-chance looks after the Cougars grabbed four quick offensive rebounds.

The lineup worked, holding Washington State without a field goal for 8:44 of game time late in the second half and with one offensive rebound for the final 27 minutes of the game, while the Bruins scored 17 points off 12 offensive rebounds.

“We started to get deflections and get out in the transition,” Bernard said. “Once we get easy buckets in transition, that’s what gets our juices going.”

This led to an offensive onslaught for the Bruins. Starting with Bernard’s go-ahead 3-pointer, UCLA closed the first half by making seven of 12 shots.

Bernard, who made his first five shots for 13 first-half points, scored 10 during this stretch. He drove to the rim for a layup off of a Jaquez bounce pass to give the Bruins a 17-point lead.

It gave UCLA the space it needed to breathe, though Washington State did not roll over after the lopsided run.

The Cougars made five of six shots to open the second half and cut the UCLA lead to 10 points. Guard Johnny Juzang’s foul trouble left the Bruins without one of their key offensive weapons.

But Jaquez came up big in the second half just like he did in the regular-season finale against USC. He scored 17 of his points after halftime on 7-for-9 shooting while adding four rebounds. He also had three second-half assists, using his ability to post up to both set up passes and his own scoring opportunities.

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“Just taking my time down there, playing at my speed,” Jaquez explained. “Just really slow down and be able to find my teammates, as well, as double-teams come.”

When he hit a corner 3-pointer off a Jaylen Clark swing pass, Jaquez played a little air guitar as he ran back up the court, having given the Bruins a 20-point lead, their biggest of the game, with 5:02 left.

It was a strong close to the game after Cronin criticized his team’s execution down the stretch against USC last week. But it was undercut by a 10-0 Washington State run in the final minute after the Bruins turned to their bench.

“Even those guys, you gotta take pride in your performance,” Cronin said. “Especially when you’re playing for a seed when people want to see you win by 20 instead of 10.”

But it was good enough for the Bruins to advance, which is what matters most in March.