UCLA men have little trouble defeating Prairie View A&M

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UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau scores on a dunk in the first half. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It was the sort of game where the goals were fairly simple.

Escape the upset and avoid injuries while improving as much as possible against a severely overmatched opponent.

UCLA succeeded on most fronts Tuesday night.

The No. 18 Bruins’ 111-75 victory over Prairie View A&M was so comfortable that UCLA coach Mick Cronin could substitute freely and used just a sprinkling of his trademark quick hooks after mistakes.

There wasn’t much to complain about except some defensive slippage and a few sloppy stretches in a game with little intrigue. After reserve guard Dominick Harris entered the game with only a few minutes left and quickly committed a foul, Cronin roared, “What did I say?” so loudly that his words could be heard in the upper reaches of the arena.

Read more: Does Mick Cronin’s irritation with direction of college sports threaten his longevity?

There were also plenty of pleasing developments. UCLA’s Dylan Andrews scored 21 points on eight-for-12 shooting to go with six assists and forward Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points. Harris also redeemed himself with a nifty assist and only his second three-pointer of the season.

Next up is a far greater challenge. The Bruins (10-1) will take their nine-game winning streak to New York for a game Saturday at Madison Square Garden against fellow blue blood North Carolina.

UCLA’s offense will head into that showdown in high gear after registering a season high for points … with 10:16 left in the game. That can happen when you shoot 59%, make 47.6% of your three-point attempts and convert 29 of 37 free throws.

UCLA’s defense wasn’t as crisp, particularly on the perimeter. Reserve guard Jordan Tillmon made six of seven three-point shots on the way to 24 points for the Panthers (1-10), who shot 47.1% and 47.6% from long range in scoring the most points of any Bruins opponent this season.

UCLA guard Trent Perry dunks on a fastbreak…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ucla-men-little-trouble-defeating-045758467.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-12-18 04:57:00

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