Westwood, CA- The UCLA men’s basketball team rolled on to a 4-1 record Wednesday night when they defeated Idaho State 84-70 at the Pauley Pavilion.
It was a big night for the Bruins’ offense as they had two players finish with 20 points or more. Despite coming off the bench it was guard Sebastian Mack paced UCLA with 21 points and forward Tyler Bilodeau wasn’t too far behind with 20 points on his own.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said that Mack, a sophomore in his second year in the program, has been taking big steps in his development. That includes being more patient on the offensive end.
“He got 16 free throws. I think some of that was his teammates made some shots, which helped. He’s really improving in his pace and his decision-making. I told him at half-time ‘I think they’re really going to pack the paint on you in the second half’ and as soon as I go to say it to him, he says ‘I know what’s coming. He’s a sophomore, he’s getting better. He’s shooting at a high percent; I’ve always loved his toughness. He’s a bright spot for us. I coach Bas, we’re both from back in the Midwest. Where we come from, guys can fight and shake hands. I coach him hard, and he can take it,” Cronin said.
The Bruins also had big contributions from forward Eric Dailey Jr., who had 16 points in the win as well. Cronin also added that he wants to see more time together on the court from his forwards in Dailey Jr., Bilodeau, and William Kyle III.
“I’d like to get to the point where Eric, Tyler, and Will [Kyle III] play at the same time. With the way some guys played tonight, we might be heading that way,” Cronin noted. “The problem is that with Brandon (Williams) redshirting, one of them gets tired. I’d like to be able to play Eric, Tyler, and Will at the same time.
UCLA led comfortably for nearly the entirety of the first half, but gave up 43 points in the second half. Mack said that the Bruins are close to putting together complete game performances.
“I feel like we’re not that far. We’re going to come together. We’re a tough team, we have good depth, so we’re going to pack it in and work on it,” Mack said. “I’m pretty sure that coming up soon, we’re going to be able to consistently play 40-minute games.”
Interestingly enough, UCLA guard Dylan Andrews only recorded 12 minutes in his first game back since the loss to New Mexico on Nov. 8.
Cronin offered up a simple explanation of why Andrews’ minutes were shortened in his return.
“I wasn’t pleased at all. He got scored on every time.”
