Men’s basketball’s inconsistency nets 96-93 loss against Washington
UCLA men’s basketball coach Steve Alford (left) said it was the lack of consistency on both ends of the court that spelled doom for the Bruins as they fell to the Washington Huskies in their Pac-12 conference opener. (Owen Emerson/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Derrek Li
Jan. 2, 2016 1:45 p.m.
SEATTLE — UCLA came out not with a bang, but with a whimper on New Year’s Day.
It was nine days since the Bruins last played a game – coupled with a winter break – and it showed Friday night on the road.
No. 25 UCLA men’s basketball opened Pac-12 play falling to unranked Washington 96-93 in a fireworks finish that ended in double overtime.
For the first 35 minutes of the game, and especially the first half, the Bruins struggled to find any rhythm offensively. UCLA went into halftime with a 33-28 lead, but it was marred by the fact that they only shot 32.1 percent from the field, compounded by 12 turnovers and just five assists.
“Our concentration in just making simple plays and making shots in the first half was really bad,” said coach Steve Alford.
Both senior forward/center Tony Parker, who went zero-for-five, and junior guard Bryce Alford, who went zero-for-seven, just couldn’t find ways to put the ball in the basket.
“Obviously that was one of my worst nights of my career going into the last couple minutes of the game,” Alford said. “It’s very frustrating – turning the ball over, not getting your teammates’ shots and not making your shots.”
The lone star offensively for the Bruins in the first half was sophomore center Thomas Welsh, who shot 80 percent from the field with 10 points. But he picked up three fouls in the last 5:44 of the half, and left himself in foul trouble for the rest of the game.
While the offense faltered, the UCLA defense held strong in the first half, forcing Washington to just 26.7 percent shooting from the field. But the Bruins loosened up in the second half, allowing the Huskies to score 43 points.
“We’ve got to be able to put together multiple halves of really good offense, good defense, and we didn’t get that,” Steve Alford said. “When you’re on the road, that’s hard to win if you’re good at one end one half and good at the other end the other half.”
UCLA entered conference play with the goal of beating Washington and Washington State for the first Pac-12 road series sweep since Alford had taken over the coaching job.
A sluggish start and inconsistency doomed that resolution on the first night of the road trip in a game that spelled trouble before Bryce Alford caught fire and created some drama.
Even so, the sparks weren’t bright enough to mask what was a disappointing loss to a Washington team that was picked by Pac-12 men’s basketball media members to finish second to last in the conference.
“The pressure’s on us now. Every night on the road is going to be a difficult deal and it was for us tonight,” Steve Alford said. “We had our chances, but we just didn’t make enough plays to get it done.”
