Sebastian Mack may have simplified coach Mick Cronin’s decisions on the bench – one that supposedly runs 17-players deep.

The sophomore posted 12 points and veered generally far from the turnover runway – neither of which did justice to his tenacity Monday night, though. 

The Bruins’ returning guard checked off all the intangible boxes that coaches often drool over, in the categories that numbers fail to spell. 

“I like Sebastian in a sixth-man role,” Cronin said. “He comes in with aggressive toughness in a lot of areas, and it gives you a hard punch off the bench. Not a lot of teams have a guy like that that can be in that role.”

Shouldered by similar grit and depth across the roster, No. 22 UCLA men’s basketball (1-0) walloped past Rider (0-1) 85-50 in its season opener at Pauley Pavilion on Monday night. Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau made all sorts of dents on the scoresheet, notching a team-high 18 points on 9-for-16 shooting alongside six rebounds and two steals on the night. 

One of the Bruins’ tasks this season – amid integrating nine new members onto their roster – was developing rhythm in their frontcourt. The departure of former forward/center Adem Bona to the NBA,  paired with Kenneth Nwuba’s graduation, raised unsettled concerns around UCLA’s ability in the post. 

Prior to coach Mick Cronin’s offseason work in the transfer portal, the frontcourt mantle was presumed to be inherited by sophomore Aday Mara – the 7-foot-3 center who dominates the Bruins from a size perspective. 

And in spite of Mara’s five points in UCLA’s season opener – punctuated by three blocks – Cronin might have located an emergence from the flames elsewhere.

Despite being sized up by the Broncs’ 6-foot-9 forward Tariq Ingraham, Bilodeau hunted down points from all regions of the hardwood en route to his game-high figure.

More than half of the Oregon State transfer’s 18 points came within the first five minutes of the second half alone, when he offered Pauley Pavilion a tantalizing look into a range of tricks up his sleeve – a crisp succession of a jumper, dunk, second-chance tip-in and hook shot that ultimately forced the Broncs to call a timeout while down 53-32.

“It all starts with all my teammates,” Bilodeau said. “Finding me good passes and stuff, … trying to see what the defense is giving me. Guys helping, kicking it out or if he’s giving me one-on-one or giving me space and I can just let it go, and that’s something that I work at.”

UCLA took the first bite at the scoreboard after the break, this time in the hot hands of senior guard Lazar Stefanovic, who drilled his first triple of the night off a deft dish from junior guard Skyy Clark in the corner. 

Stefanovic poured in six points through just 17 minutes on the court Monday night – a far cry from the 34.6 minutes he averaged per game last season. It took Stefanovic till post-halftime to trouble the scorers – a testament to the wealth of talent lined up in Cronin’s arsenal this season. 

“It not only shows the depth of this team, it shows how unselfish Lazar is,” said senior guard Kobe Johnson. “For him to be able to take a step back and take a different role with this team – it’s just amazing to see him do that. He’s got one of the best attitudes I’ve been around. … I mean, that’s what’s going to make this team great: People like that.”

The Bruins hinted at signs of their depth immediately off the tip – within six minutes of play, sophomore guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr., junior guard Dylan Andrews, Bilodeau and Johnson each conjured their magic to contribute to UCLA’s early surge out the gates. 

“I was brought here just to bring that energy, bring that leadership, bring that grittiness,” Johnson said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help this team win, try to leave a mark with this team and its history.”

Amid offensive flurry across the floor, Cronin sported a stifling man defense, including a full-court press that the Broncs proved incapable of navigating. The Bruin faithful tasted appetizers of Johnson’s defensive heroics as the veteran snagged steals on the defensive end to convert scoring opportunities for UCLA. 

Just four minutes into action, Rider was outpaced by its own blunders – racking up four turnovers to a meager three points. 

“We can be a scrappy team,” Johnson said. “We showed that we could turn teams over a whole lot and create offense from that.”

UCLA’s suffocating defense ultimately forced Rider to 14 turnovers on the night, pointing to its ability to capitalize across the bench. 

With four Bruins hitting double-digit marks in their season opener, Cronin got his first glimpse into what might be his deepest roster in Westwood so far.

“That’s the motto of this team,” Johnson said. “‘Next man up.’”