LOS ANGELES — On Saturday, the UCLA men’s basketball team went 13 miles south on the 405 Freeway from Westwood for the first college basketball game in the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. The Bruins’ defense, as reliable as it’s been all season, traveled right with them.
It completely dictated the first 17 minutes of the game as the Bruins lived in the passing lanes, applied constant pressure on Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard, and held the Bulldogs, the highest-scoring team in the nation (89.3 points per game), to just 16 points.
But as the Bulldogs began to take better care of the ball, they exploited the Bruins’ fatal flaw of half-court offense. Aimless possessions that dragged into the final seconds of the shot-clock ensued.
That is until sophomore Sebastian Mack, who didn’t have a field goal for the first 39 minutes, sized up Nembhard and bulldozed his way to the basket for an and-1 layup. After a pair of Skyy Clark free throws gave UCLA a three-point lead, Nembhard cut behind Clark and Mack fouled him as he scored.
With eight seconds left, Nembhard had a free throw to tie the game and missed it short, allowing UCLA to scrape out the a 65-62 win, the Bruins’ first in five games against Gonzaga dating to 2021.
In a game that certainly showed head coach Mick Cronin whom he could trust, his Bruins found themselves down a point with four minutes left, against a bunch that firmly knows who they are.
After it was all finished, Cronin determined he could rely on Mack and Clark, who combined for the final seven points. He discovered he could bet on Eric Dailey Jr., who, according to Cronin, spent Christmas Eve alone in the Bruins’ practice facility getting up shots and on Saturday led the team with 18 points, shooting 4 of 5 from deep.
He also got a lift from Lazar Stefanovic. The junior replaced starting wing Kobe Johnson, who played himself out of the first half with inexplicable fouls and turnovers. At the 8:30 mark of the first half, Stefanovic came off a flare screen for a 3-pointer. The Bruins followed that with a pair of triples from Clark and Dailey Jr.. Then freshman Trent Perry deflected and stole Nolan Hickman’s pass, turning it into a fast-break, and-1 layup. A right wing triple from Tyler Bilodeau capped a 15-2 run that gave the Bruins a 22-13 lead.
Nembhard and senior Graham Ike basically willed the Bulldogs back into the game with their individual brilliance on the offensive side. They created shots for themselves and converted, cutting the margin to two by halftime.
The Bulldogs’ nine-point run to close the half came largely on isolation buckets, which isn’t how the Bulldogs usually operate, but the Bruins’ ability to disrupt their offensive sets and ball movement forced them to score out of isolation.
Johnson played seven minutes in the first half, and the Bruins missed his instincts and presence on the help side. He played himself into a spot on the bench, but it was clear, to win this game, the Bruins needed him in some shape or form.
He came out in the second half and quickly hit two 3s. Later in the half, he won a possession for the Bruins after stopping Nembhard and hustling for a jump ball. He finished the game with 17 points.
He also helped Bilodeau wall up against Ike, who scored a game-high 24 points but didn’t have a field goal in the final 14 minutes.
It was clear throughout this win of why Cronin went out and got Clark, Johnson, Dailey and Bilodeau.
He counted on them down the stretch and they came through.