Turnovers doom No. 18 UCLA in 80-72 loss to Cal

On a night 18th-ranked UCLA got a strong early boost off the bench in the backcourt, its star lead guard struggled to take care of the ball and was unable to finish the game due to injury in a stunning defeat.

The Bruins turned the ball over 11 times, including six from Donovan Dent, and couldn’t maintain an early rebounding edge Tuesday in an 80-72 loss to California as part of the Empire Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Guard Trent Perry scored 19 points off the bench to notch his fourth double-figure scoring output of the young season for UCLA (5-2), which struggled after halftime and trailed by as many as 13 with 7:07 remaining.

The Bruins, who got 31 points off the bench, cut the deficit to 71-67 on reserve guard Jamar Brown‘s 3-pointer at the tail end of his personal 6-0 spurt with 4:13 to play.

Cal (6-1), which got a game-high 22 points and five 3-pointers from Syracuse transfer forward Chris Bell, scored just six points over the six-minute stretch in UCLA’s comeback attempt.

With less than 3 minutes to play, Dent missed an open 3-pointer from the corner while trailing 73-69. The Bruins never mounted another rally. Dent finished 1 of 8 from the field.

At the 1:58 mark, Dent then hurt his wrapped left leg after planting awkwardly in a noncontact injury. He did not return.

UCLA also struggled at the free-throw line and was unable to prevent Cal from getting to the line. The Bruins were just 13 of 23 compared to the Golden Bears’ 17 of 22, including 12 of 16 in the second half.

The Bruins are off the rest of the week before their Big Ten opener at Washington next Wednesday.

UCLA postgame press conference

Head coach Mick Cronin and wing Eric Dailey Jr., who finished with 17 points, addressed the media after the game. Video by BruinBlitz publisher Matt Moreno:

Turning point of the game

UCLA crawled out to an 8-0 lead thanks in large part to a shaky start from Cal, which missed its first five shot attempts and had three turnovers before the first timeout.

The Bruins, though, had their own early lapses soon after, and the Bears quickly pulled in front 20-12 on a traditional three-point play followed by back-to-back 3-pointers — all from Bell — as part of a 14-0 run.

UCLA rallied back thanks to six early offensive rebounds to score seven second-chance points and re-take a 25-24 lead with 7:30 left in the half.

Perry helped the Bruins grow the lead with a strong first half, including a putback basket and a finish through contact for a traditional three-point play on consecutive possessions to push the advantage to 40-33.

Perry and Bell had 12 first-half points to lead their respective teams, as UCLA took a 41-36 lead into the break.

The Bears used a 13-2 run early in the second half to go ahead 51-46, including Bell’s fourth made 3-pointer. The Bruins’ issues included four quick turnovers — three from Dent — inside the first seven minutes of the second half.

Cal extended the lead to 65-53 after Bell’s fifth 3-pointer in as many attempts capped a string of seven consecutive points and forced a UCLA timeout with 9:29 to play.

UCLA standout on offense: G Trent Perry

Perry was both an efficient scorer and strong distributor early for the Bruins.

Among the early highlights was a patient assist to a cutting Steven Jamerson II for an uncontested two-handed jam. Perry nearly had another assist before halftime after a crisp entry pass to Xavier Booker, who could not finish the layup.

Perry’s strong start also made up for Dent, who had just one point after missing three shot attempts and turning the ball over twice in the first half.

UCLA standout on defense: G Jamar Brown

Brown had a block and a steal to go with six rebounds, including five on the defensive glass.

While Booker contributed three blocks, he had just four rebounds and posted a minus-15 plus/minus in 31 minutes.

Why UCLA lost

The Bruins asserted themselves on the boards early, owning a plus-10 rebounding advantage at the half to offset some rocky offensive execution at moments. That did not hold up, however.

The Bears had a 20-16 edge on the glass in the second half. Cal also had a 17-7 advantage in fastbreak points for the game.

Dent looked nothing like the guard who started the season with a strong assist-to-turnover ratio. Entering the contest, the New Mexico transfer had 33 assists to seven turnovers in five games.

Since missing a victory over West Georgia out of precaution with a muscle strain, Dent’s explosiveness on his drives to the rim has been significantly lacking.