UCLA men’s basketball stops four-game slide with win against Washington

This post was updated Jan. 16 at 12:29 a.m.

Roaring cheers from the season’s earlier, more hopeful days had dissipated.

And on the heels of national embarrassment, there was no reason for them to return.

An offensive revival, though, was enough for the Bruin faithful to get back on their feet.

Ending its four-game slide, UCLA men’s basketball (7-10, 2-4 Pac-12) defeated Washington (10-7, 2-4) by a score of 73-61 at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday night. Having lost eight of their last nine games and tied for last in the Pac-12 coming in, the Bruins delivered victory to a half-full but energetic crowd.

“This is a good first step for us as a team – caring for each other, celebrating every point, every loose ball, every dive, every charge,” said sophomore forward/center Adem Bona. “I think it’s amazing how teams can change when the team comes together and celebrates everything.”

A characteristically sluggish start continued the narrative written three days prior, when UCLA was essentially dragged through the mud by Utah in the program’s second-biggest defeat ever.

But in response to a 1-for-5 start from the field against the Huskies, the Bruins found a gear that had been rusted up for months. 

Freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel followed his own forced turnover by cashing in on a 3-pointer to snap a four-minute dry spell on the scoreboard. And with another Washington turnover to follow a Bona dunk, freshman guard Ilane Fibleuil hit the gas for a fast-break layup that left his body laid out but his fist in the air.

With just over 10 minutes left in the first half, Bona’s hands found the rim for a second slam, punctuating a 13-2 run and five consecutive made field goals for the Bruins.

“You know me. I’m always loud, so I tried today to call for the ball every single time I’m open. And obviously it produced today,” Bona said.

Even beyond the arc – an area of considerable trouble for the country’s No. 334-ranked squad in 3-point percentage – became a place of fortune.

A connection between redshirt sophomore guard Will McClendon and junior guard Lazar Stefanovic left the latter wide open in the corner, where he proceeded to drain a triple to put the Bruins at 3-for-5 from range. He would go on to make two of three such attempts en route to 15 points, one shy of his season high. 

“It was a big emphasis, a big emphasis for months now that we’ve got to share the ball. We’ve got to move the ball,” Stefanovic said. “Sometimes we don’t do it, but when we do, we’re really good.”

Before a buzzer-beating jumper from Washington sent the game into the break, UCLA doubled up the visitors 26-13 en route to its biggest halftime lead since mid-November.

And after a brief run by the Huskies coming out of the locker room, Bona began to have his way.

The reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year made four of UCLA’s first five field goals of the second frame, including a third dunk to push his team to a 41-30 lead. He would finish with 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting, including five dunks.

“That was a byproduct of passing. You don’t get a dunk without a good pass,” said coach Mick Cronin. “He didn’t dribble himself, you know – he ain’t beating a guy, shaking the guy up and going to dunk it.”

But the eventual victory was anything but individual.

The Bruins racked up 20 assists to fall one short of their best mark all season – an effort spearheaded by sophomore guard Dylan Andrews from the point, through which he tallied a career-high eight assists of his own.

Cronin said their success distributing the ball made a critical difference, but there’s more work to be done.

“Trust me, that’s all I talked about in the postgame,” Cronin said. “From the offensive standpoint, we have to improve as a passing team, but we’ve got to improve in a lot of things. A whole lot of things. It’s going to be a never-ending story for us – that’s the story of our season.”

When the clock hit zero, UCLA had extended its winning streak against Washington, now having won its last nine straight games against the Huskies.

In this year’s sea of records – often for worse and rarely for the better – the Bruins were left holding one to be proud of.