PORTLAND, Ore. — As UCLA was taking the floor for warmups on Thursday night, the crowd’s focus was toward the ceiling of the arena. All eyes were on the jumbotron broadcasting No. 2 seed Kentucky’s overtime loss to No. 15 Saint Peter’s halfway across the country.

The 15,000 people on hand at the Moda Center cheered when Saint Peter’s had officially won. The epitome of what makes March Madness so fun was unfolding in front of their eyes, but it was virtual.

Perhaps, it was an omen. The crowd nearly got to witness an in-person upset as well.

But thanks to Tyger Campbell, fourth-seeded UCLA rallied for a 57-53 victory over 13th-seeded Akron in its NCAA Tournament opener.

“That’s March for you right there,” said Jaime Jaquez Jr., who acknowledged the Kentucky-Saint Peter’s game. “It happens every year, teams get upset. And we were watching that game thinking to ourselves: That can’t be us tonight.”

Campbell reeled off eight straight points, including two 3-pointers in the final three minutes, scoring half of his team-high 16 points during a 15-4 closing run that gave the Bruins (26-7) the lead and advanced them to a second-round matchup with fifth-seeded St. Mary’s (26-7) on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. (PT) on TBS.

“My teammates just kept finding me, and I just was wanting to make a play,” Campbell said. “I knew down the stretch, Coach (Mick Cronin) made some adjustments, and I just wanted to execute on them, and the shots went in.”

Campbell’s first 3-pointer from the corner brought UCLA to within 51-50 with 2:26 to play before a mid-range jumper and a 25-foot 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring that gave the Bruins a 55-51 lead with 1:17 left.

Even with Campbell’s streak, the Bruins still had to sweat the final moments after a missed free throw and Jaquez missing a jumper with 15 seconds left. Akron’s Ali Ali drove to the basket for a potential game-tying opportunity, but he didn’t have a clean look and Cody Riley blocked the shot before Johnny Juzang corralled the rebound and was fouled.

Juzang’s two free throws with two seconds left iced the victory.

“I told (Akron’s coach John Groce) after the game they were probably the most well-coached, best defensive team we’ve played all year,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Their point guard was so tough, all their guys were so tough, the smallest guys on our post guys, and we couldn’t get the ball inside. It’s just a credit to the coaching staff at Akron, their kids, their toughness.”

Campbell finished 6 for 12 from the field (3 for 6 from behind the arc) with five assists. Jaquez had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists and held Akron’s top scorer, Ali, to just five points on 2-for-10 shooting. Jules Bernard added 10 points for the Bruins.

UCLA trailed 47-39 with 7:36 to play. As big as Campbell shot’s were, Cronin thought Bernard’s 3-pointer coming out of the timeout deserved praise.

“I would like to add that the biggest shot of the game was Jules’ three in the corner….we were struggling,” Cronin said. “That was a big-time shot. There was no coaching involved in that. That’s just gym time and this guy that’s been doing big things for us for three years since I’ve been here. That was a big, big-time shot.”

The win makes Cronin 50-2 when holding opponents under 60 points.

UCLA trailed 26-25 at halftime after shooting just 32% from the field (8 for 25) that was dampened by a 3-for-13 start, with four turnovers, and an eventual scoring drought that lasted 5 minutes and 52 seconds.

During that stretch, the Zips (24-10) had an 18-10 lead. Eventually, a 3-pointer from Jaquez tied the score at 22-22 while Akron was going through a bad offensive stretch of its own, having not converted on any field goals for almost five minutes.

Peyton Watson provided a spark for the Bruins in the heart of the second half with a 3-pointer from the top of the key that gave UCLA a 37-36 lead before Akron stole it right bak within seconds. But Watson’s efforts didn’t stop there. He was attacking the basket and diving for loose balls.

“I felt like he could be a good matchup defensively,” Cronin said of Watson. “We were trying to get stops, get us some length in the game. He knocked down a big shot. It was really impactful minutes. He didn’t get a rebound, but his effort to go get some, he infused energy into our team, which we needed.”

Watson’s minutes, though few, we’re inspiring. The traveling Bruin fans stood on their feet, clapped and cheered to help rally UCLA, but didn’t seem like it was going to be enough.

Down 49-42 with 5:58 left, things looked bleak, but the Bruins put together their 15-4 run highlighted by Campbell’s self 8-0 run.

Castaneda led Akron with 18 points and Enrique Freeman added 14 before fouling out with 2:26 left on an illegal screen.