UCLA escapes Washington with 82-80 win in Big Ten opener
After eight days between games, the UCLA men’s basketball team found some of its offensive mojo to get back in the win column. But it sure wasn’t because of anything down the stretch.
Bruins guard Skyy Clark scored a season-high 25 points and forward Tyler Bilodeau matched his own with 21, but UCLA only narrowly escaped after a late Washington charge came up short Wednesday in an 82-80 win at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
UCLA (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten), which dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 rankings after last Tuesday’s loss to California, struggled to put the Big Ten opener away after leading by as many as 16 with 4:45 to play.
Washington (5-3, 0-1 Big Ten) closed the contest on a 20-6 flurry, but guard Zoom Diallo missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Bruins were 17 of 24 at the free-throw line but missed three over the final two minutes, including point guard Donovan Dent‘s attempt with four seconds remaining that left the door open for the Huskies.
Forward Hannes Steinbach paced Washington with a game-high 29 points on 11-of-12 shooting and had 10 rebounds to notch a double-double.
Clark was 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 7 on 3-pointers, and the Bruins collectively shot 52.8% (28 of 53) for the contest. Bilodeau scored all but one of his points after halftime and made 7 of 14 shots.
UCLA won despite failing to convert from the field over the final 2:51.
Turning point of the game
The Bruins got separate individual scoring tears in each half.
Clark hit five of his 3-pointers en route to a 36-32 advantage at the break, while Bilodeau quickly had 16 consecutive second-half points for UCLA to lead the charge to a 59-49 lead with 12:09 left.
The Bruins, who made 13 of their first 20 shots after halftime, went up 76-60 once Dent joined the fray and found his rhythm. Dent scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half and dished out eight assists.
Then, it all started to fall apart.
The Huskies made four 3-pointers over the final eight minutes, including Quimari Peterson‘s basket to pull within 78-77 with 37 seconds left.
While UCLA struggled at the free-throw line down the stretch, Clark helped hold off Washington after immediately converting three consecutive free throws after he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. It bumped the Bruins’ lead back up to 81-77 with 14 seconds left and did just enough to preserve the victory.
UCLA standout on offense: G Skyy Clark/F Tyler Bilodeau
Their respective heaters in each half provided enough of a cushion.
Bilodeau’s spurt particularly was key after making 7 of 11 shots from the field after halftime.
UCLA standout on defense: C Steven Jamerson II
Aside from foul trouble, the reserve was a plus-17 in his 21 minutes off the bench.
Jamerson had two steals and a blocked shot to provide a spark for a team that otherwise got outscored 40-36 in the paint.
At the same time, his four fouls and a return to the bench did not help matters in the less-than-comfortable finish for the Bruins. So, consider it a mixed bag on a night UCLA was far from sharp defensively.
Why UCLA won
It was a 2-3 zone defense that helped the Bruins overcome a 16-5 deficit inside the game’s first six minutes.
UCLA also limited the turnovers, committing just seven, while forcing 15 and owning a 20-6 edge in points off turnovers.
The Bruins won despite getting outrebounded 33-21, giving up 20 second-chance points and getting outscored 17-6 on the fast break.
