This post was updated Feb. 7 at 11:26 p.m.

They will give you a foul for crying foul about a foul.

They will even give you a foul for crying foul about not-a-foul.

Every deemed misstep was met with a whistle and punishment.

And every punishment was met with exasperation and frustration – from the players, from the fans, from the coaches.

Senior forward Tyler Bilodeau sank his third 3-pointer of the night with 10:57 remaining to give the Bruins a five-point lead, but earned his fourth foul just 20 seconds later.

Sophomore center Xavier Booker earned his fourth just nine seconds later.

And not even two dozen “Mississippis” later, coach Mick Cronin got assessed a technical foul, apparently after arguing a non-call.

“I’m completely unhappy with the officiating,” Cronin said. “But they (the referees) could care less.”

Soon there were more whistles. Soon there were more cheers, jeers and “Ref, you suck” chants.

And soon there was the thing Pauley Pavilion may be so often criticized for.

Energy.

Backed by a sparkplug, Bruin-favored crowd, UCLA men’s basketball (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) worked past a first-half deficit and foul trouble to push past Washington (12-12, 4-9) 77-73.

“It gets you fired up,” said sophomore guard Trent Perry on Cronin’s technical foul. “In the moment, I was like, ‘Yo, Coach, we don’t need that.’ He’s like, ‘I did it on purpose.’ It’s all good. We went on a run and got the job done.”

For better or worse, good calls or bad, Bilodeau took center stage in the second half.

The senior sank two 3-pointers within the frame’s opening two minutes to even the score. Under a minute later, senior guard Donovan Dent, who logged 17 points Saturday, made a fastbreak layup to give UCLA the lead it held until the end of regulation.

Then there was Bilodeau’s shrugged shoulders and expression of disbelief growing more pronounced with every proceeding whistle, as did the audible displeasure of the Bruin faithful – paired with seemingly ever louder cheers for UCLA’s successes. 

With or without the juice of a home crowd or contentious officiating calls, the Bruins found themselves in a hole after the opening 20 minutes.

Washington jumped out to a 20-12 by the 12:44 mark thanks to its 9-for-12 shooting from the field compared to UCLA’s 4-for-12. Wesley Yates III, a former Trojan guard, racked up 12 points for the Huskies within the game’s first six minutes and finished with a team-leading 21.

“Defensively, it’s a fight everyday with this group,” Cronin said. “They’re great guys; I love them. We’re not going anywhere if we keep giving up 50% from the field. Our season will be over really, really early.”

Cronin added that he’s had to adjust practices to account for general recovery, existing injuries, the Bruins’ current schedule and a lack of depth – namely because guard senior Skyy Clark, whom Cronin continues to call the Bruins’ best defender, is still out with an injury sustained Jan. 3.

The only sign of any spectator enthusiasm in the early goings came when the Bruin Basket Challenge contestant managed to sink their required half-court shot as time expired. With the contestant making an additional 3-point shot previously in the trial, they had more makes from beyond the arc than UCLA at the time – with just one make on three attempts.

“We got to start the game better off,” Dent said. “We can’t have lapses during the game. We’ll go stretches where our defense looks phenomenal, and we’re playing amazing. And then we’ll go lapse.”

No Bruin would reach double digits until Dent had 10 at the eight-minute mark – and he would remain UCLA’s only player in double figures come halftime.

The Huskies’ offense would quiet for a bit – recording just two field goals on 11 shots over a nine-minute span.

Amid the Washington drought, UCLA mustered enough of an offense for Perry to sink a lead-changing 3-pointer at the 6:15 mark – just the Bruins’ second made 3-pointer at that point and the team’s first lead.

That would be a sign of things to come for Perry. The guard finished with 23 points to lead the Bruins’ offense, including going 3-for-3 from deep.

By intermission, the Huskies were shooting 55.6% from the field and 3-for-8 from deep to the Bruins’ 34.5% and 2-for-7 effort, respectively.

In the second half, UCLA managed to turn the table – shooting 48.1% from the field and making 6-for-11 from deep to Washington’s 44.8% mark and 2-for-9 showing.

While a nine-point lead with a minute and a half left falling to a two-point lead with 65 seconds is far from a magic trick any defense would be proud of, the Bruins escaped with a tally on the right side of the column.

“I’m happy with the win,” Cronin said.