Los Angeles, CA- UCLA picked up another big performance from Aday Mara as the Bruins dominated from nearly start to finish in the Crosstown Rivalry vs. USC. The Trojans’ late second half comeback wouldn’t be enough as the Bruins came out on top 82-76 on Monday night at the Galen Center.
The Bruins have now won five of their last seven games against the Trojans. UCLA enjoyed a productive start from Mara at the center position. Mara finished with a double-double, putting up 12 points and 11 rebounds, and five blocks. It’s the third straight game with Mara finishing with double-digit points as he fills in for the injured Tyler Bilodeau.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said Mara’s confidence grew as the game progressed, which helped after a slow start from the seven-foot-three Spanish center.

“The big thing with a young kid like him is that I had to tell the players to tell him to keep shooting. He missed a few early and he didn’t want to shoot after that. I’m making the team tell him in the time outs to keep shooting. They know he’s a scorer because they see him every day in practice,” Cronin said.
With the win, it extends UCLA’s win streak to four games as they continue to build up an NCAA tournament resume amidst tough matchups in conference play.
“We just won two in a row on the road without our leading scorer. Not many teams in the country are going to win on the road in a rivalry game against a great coach, a heck of a team of older guys, without their leading scorer,” Cronin said. “Happy is an understatement. Different guys [stepped up] at different times.”
Despite the loss, USC guard Wesley Yates III continues to shine in his extended role this season. The redshirt freshman saw his minutes slowly increase this season after Terrance Williams II suffered an injury in early December. Yates III had 19 points on 7-14 shooting from the field.
“I have to find ways to impact the game without scoring. Rebounds, deflections, whatever my team needs to get the win. The work that I put in is showing, even when I wasn’t playing earlier in the season. Once I keep working, I’m going to keep playing better,” Yates said.
UCLA jumped out to an early 16-9 lead within the first seven minutes of the first half. The Trojans would pull within a point after a Saint Thomas layup with 7:54 left, but UCLA would extend their lead back up to five points to close out the half.
The beginning of the second half was dominated by the Bruins as UCLA enjoyed a comfortable double-digit lead for the first ten minutes. However, USC did not go down quietly and came back after facing a 15-point deficit in the second half.
Yates III would go 1-2 at the line after a UCLA shooting foul to make the game 73-72 with 2:39 left to go.
UCLA rose to the occasion and went on a 13-4 run to close out the game in the final two minutes to escape the Galen Center with the win.