This post was updated Dec. 1 at 12:06 a.m.

Down 65-63 with 40 seconds to go, freshman Aday Mara – a center who averages .500 from the charity stripe – was sent to the line. 

Mara met expectations, swishing one free throw and giving UC Riverside the ball back. But the shot clock expired on the ensuing possession, and one Bruin shined within the nine seconds he was granted. 

Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews drove to the basket, making the jumper and giving his team the one-point lead needed to extend the nation’s longest home-winning streak by one.

Andrews said his last game-winning shot came long before his UCLA tenure.

 “High school, man,” Andrews said. “So I mean, it’s a blessing to be able to make that shot.”

In the absence of coach Mick Cronin, who was out with COVID-19, UCLA men’s basketball (5-2) narrowly surmounted Riverside (3-5) on Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion 66-65. Orchestrated by associate head coach Darren Savino for the night, the Bruins completed the victory behind a 17-point performance from Andrews and an 11-point night from redshirt sophomore guard Will McClendon. 

Savino said he’s excited for Cronin to return and to resume his position in his second chair on the bench.

 “I am definitely looking forward to sliding back over to the other seat,” Savino said. “As quick as possible.”

UCLA opened the second half on a 8-3 run, but it was quickly matched by a Riverside 8-0 run to take over the lead 43-42. 

The Highlanders’ own guard Isaiah Moses kept his squad in the game, scoring all 11 of his team’s points 10 minutes into the second half – adding to his existing clip of five. 

“Being out there, it felt like they (the Highlanders) didn’t miss a shot,” McClendon said. “So I mean, honestly, with the result we have, it could be worse.”

Ultimately, Moses’ success temporarily stalled with UCLA emerging on a 13-1 run, consisting of back-to-back 3-pointers from McClendon and an alley-oop dunk from Mara, to extend the score to 55-44 with just over eight minutes to go.

Riverside slowly chipped away at its deficit, knotting the game with 1:40 to go off a 3-pointer from Moses, whose scoring feats returned with the make in the waning moments of the game. 

Savino said the Bruins’ difficulties defending the Highlanders behind the arc were what gave them trouble.

“I thought our lunging on drives and giving up open 3s – when we told them in the timeouts to stop doing that, and we kept doing – and that’s what hurt us, and they were on a roll,” Savino said. “They were confident. It wasn’t just one guy, it was multiple guys that were stepping into 3s.”

After the play, the free throw exchange occurred, and the near buzzer-beating jumper from Andrews granted UCLA the narrow victory amid a game riddled with 16 lead changes.

The first half reflected the second as baskets were traded between the two teams to open the scoring, with the largest lead peaking at six. Every made basket for UCLA, excluding free throws, was matched by a basket from its counterpart up until that point.

UCLA didn’t exit the victory without a loss of its own, as freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel endured an apparent right-leg injury with 4:06 remaining in the first half, and freshman guard Sebastian Mack needed help off the floor when the game concluded. 

Savino said he thinks Buyuktuncel injured his ankle, and Mack appeared to reaggravate a lingering toe injury.

But ultimately, despite missing their head coach and Buyuktuncel, the Bruins were able to emerge victorious and keep their winning streak alive for another day. 

McClendon said despite the absence of Cronin on the floor, the impact of his leadership was still ingrained in their efforts and words.

“Everybody’s the echo of coach (Cronin),” McClendon said. “We all always stress the same things, regardless of who’s saying it.”