Dylan Andrews banked in the go-ahead basket with three seconds remaining for two of his team-high 17 points, and UCLA survived a scare from visiting UC Riverside on Thursday with a 66-65 win at Los Angeles.
The Bruins (5-2) played their first game since last week’s Maui Invitational without head coach Mick Cronin, who was out with COVID-19. With associate head coach Darren Savino serving as acting head coach, UCLA escaped against a feisty and hot 3-point-shooting UC Riverside bunch. The win extended the Bruins’ home-court winning streak to 29 games, which leads the nation.
The Highlanders (3-5) went 14 of 32 from beyond the arc, with Isaiah Moses going 5 of 8 from deep and Kyle Owens hitting 5 of 9. Moses led all scorers with 21 points, while Owens added 18.
Nate Pickens chipped in 14 points off the bench, including a pair of free throws with 48 seconds remaining that gave UC Riverside a 65-63 lead. The Highlanders pulled ahead at the culmination of an 8-0 row, which included 3-pointers from Pickens and Moses.
The 8-0 spurt was part of a 21-8 UC Riverside run spanning more than seven minutes. UCLA pulled ahead by 11 and threatened to run away midway through the second half when a 7-0 run closed with Aday Mara’s dunk off an Andrews lob.
Mara scored nine points for the Bruins but shot just 4 of 10 from the floor. UCLA went 23 of 57 from the floor overall, including Lazar Stefanovic’s 1-of-5 shooting on a nine-point night, and a 2-of-10 game from Sebastian Mack, who finished with eight points.
Adem Bona scored just four points before fouling out.
Will McClendon was the only Bruin scorer to join Andrews in double-figures, producing 11 points off the bench. McClendon shot 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Despite its shooting woes, UCLA outscored UC Riverside in the paint 28-8. The Bruins went 13 of 16 from the free-throw line to the Highlanders’ 7 of 11.
UCLA barely outrebounded UC Riverside (31-29) though the Highlanders’ Owens grabbed a game-high nine boards.
–Field Level Media