The long road to prestige began at home, against a largely anonymous opponent.
Having failed his first test against a mid-major, UCLA fell back in the competition Monday night and did little to convince anyone of its place in the national rankings.
Many of the same issues that plagued the Bruins last week were present again in a scrappy game. Victory 71-40 on Boston University at Pauley Pavilion.
There were many turnovers, long droughts and even more difficulty making long-range shots.
Learn more: Tyler Bilodeau’s big game can’t save UCLA in frustrating loss to New Mexico
Fortunately for the Bruins, their defense proved too strong for an opponent unable to handle active hands and backcourt pressure. UCLA (2-1) forced 28 turnovers that it converted into 36 points in taking a small step forward after its loss to New Mexico.
Most of those points came on layups and dunks in transition, rewards for all that effort spent on defense.
“I was very happy tonight with our attitude of humility and the fact that we dove on the floor more tonight than any scrimmage, game or exhibition game combined,” the Bruins coach said , Mick Cronin, after his team accumulated a season-high 59. which are defined as tipped passes, blocks, interceptions or loose balls collected. “In the first half, we outperformed our floor dives for the year.”
The Bruins weren’t able to do as much with the 24 turnovers they forced against the Lobos, with those errors resulting in just 15 points.
In a more encouraging development, this is the first time UCLA has forced 20 or more turnovers in consecutive games since against Wyoming, Louisiana Tech and Oregon State during the 2008-09 season.
After his team was bullied by New Mexico, Cronin said he had a stomach ache and couldn’t sleep for two days. So he challenged his players to become tougher.
“I basically told them, ‘If you want to play for me, this is the way it’s going to be or you’re not going to play for me,'” Cronin said. “I know our football team is on a winning streak, but I can always go get a few guys when they’re done.”
UCLA Guard Kobe Johnson had four interceptions and one attacking Eric Dailey Jr. added three for a team that finished with 14. The most impressive might have belonged to the goalie Skyy Clarkwho dove into the broadcaster’s table near midcourt to prevent his steal from going out of bounds. Clark finished the match with 16 deflections, which Cronin said was one shy of the most any player has ever recorded for him.
Learn more: UCLA shows depth of talent in season-opening win over Rider
“He wreaks havoc everywhere,” Cronin said of Clark, who added six rebounds, four points and two assists. “I mean, he has games where he’s going to score a lot of points. But he’s really trying to accept…what we’re trying to do with his efforts.
Boston (0-3) struggled to simply get the ball into the frontcourt during the Bruins’ 9-0 and 10-0 runs early in the second half, turning the game into a blowout.
Dailey said the team’s turnaround began in practice with a shared determination to fix what went wrong against New Mexico.
“It was pretty intense,” Dailey said. “I mean, you know, we don’t like to lose and we’ll do everything in our power to change the mistakes that we’ve made.”
Things weren’t looking as good for UCLA on the offensive front.
Dailey and Lazar Stefanovic scored 13 points each for the Bruins, who made just five of 22 three-pointers (22.7 percent) and committed 11 of their 15 turnovers in the first half. Sebastian Mack added 12 points, two assists and two steals off the bench for UCLA.
Cronin said he didn’t worry about the inaccuracy given how his team responded on defense.
“I can handle missed shots,” Cronin said. “I can’t stand not competing physically.”
Cronin was particularly happy with the big man Aday Mara grabbing seven rebounds in 10 minutes on the bench. Before William Kyle III also dazzled during a sequence in which he materialized to block what appeared to be an uncontested layup. Seconds later, he missed a Mack miss and went up for a fierce dunk.
A change for the Bruins came right off the tip, with Cronin going with Stefanovic Dylan Andrews as part of his initial training. Andrews was out with a left groin injury that is not considered serious, leaving his status day-to-day.
There was an early sighting of Dominick Harris, the Loyola Marymount transfer given playing time before halftime for the first time this season. But Harris didn’t make much of an impression in his 15 minutes, missing all six of his shots.
Cronin told his sniper that everything was fine. The only number that really mattered was Boston’s total on the scoreboard.
“If we limit everyone to 40,” Cronin said, “we’re going to win every game the rest of the year.”
This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
