Generally, you simply must get by way of it.
After an sickness unfold by way of the staff this week, weakening each gamers and coaches, UCLA endured pockets of listless play towards a severely overmatched opponent Saturday afternoon.
When Penn State rolled off the primary eight factors of the second half inside Pauley Pavilion, the Nittany Lions trailed by simply 5 factors and there was audible unease amongst followers.
However the Bruins pulled themselves collectively, went on an enormous run and pulled away for a 78-54 victory, extending their profitable streak to seven video games.
There was loads to love for UCLA (18-6 total, 9-4 Large Ten) given the circumstances, the Bruins committing simply three turnovers whereas forcing 18 and likewise having fun with the advantages of wonderful ball motion. Essentially the most memorable sequence got here early within the second half, when Eric Dailey Jr. threw a bounce move to Kobe Johnson, who threw a bounce move to William Kyle III for a two-handed dunk.
The followers had been roaring once more a number of minutes later when UCLA’s Skyy Clark drove into the lane and threw a lob to Aday Mara for one more dunk.
Johnson compiled his greatest sport as a Bruin, ending with a season-high 15 factors on seven-for-12 taking pictures to go along with 13 rebounds, six assists and 4 steals. Clark was additionally an across-the-board contributor with 14 factors, three rebounds and three assists.
UCLA’s Sebastian Mack added 14 factors off the bench and Tyler Bilodeau had 11, the latter reaching the 1,000-point threshold for his profession.
Penn State (13-11, 3-10) entered the sport short-handed, with swingman Puff Johnson (hand) and heart Yanic Konan Niederhauser (ankle) each sidelined. It wasn’t what the Nittany Lions wanted contemplating they’d misplaced eight of their earlier 9 video games and had been 0-5 on the street.
In contrast to UCLA, which was combating to enhance its NCAA event seeding, Penn State was vying only for a berth within the Large Ten event, which invitations the highest 15 of its 18 groups.
True to kind for a staff that had solely misplaced two video games by double digits earlier than Saturday, the Nittany Lions proved scrappy within the sport’s early going. When ahead Zach Hicks buried a three-pointer halfway by way of the primary half, Penn State held a two-point lead.
The momentum shifted due to the continuation of a latest development — the Bruins forcing much more turnovers than they dedicated.
That phenomenon was on show halfway by way of the primary half, when UCLA compelled 4 consecutive turnovers to spark an 11-0 run. A Mack steal and outlet move led to a Clark dunk. A Johnson steal triggered his personal breakaway dunk. A Johnson steal led to a Clark layup. At that time, Penn State was so rattled that guard Ace Baldwin Jr. threw a move out of bounds on his staff’s subsequent possession.
By halftime, UCLA had compelled 9 turnovers whereas committing only one, an enormous motive the Bruins shot 58.6% due to all these simple baskets that had been mirrored of their 44-31 benefit on the scoreboard.
