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UCLA guard Eric Dailey Jr., right, drives past Iowa guard Drew Thelwell during the first half of the Bruins’ 94-70 win at Pauley Pavilion on Friday night. Dailey finished with a career-high 23 points. (Harry How / Getty Images)
Sebastian Mack’s forced three-pointer at the end of the shot clock came nowhere near the rim, another empty possession for UCLA forcing coach Mick Cronin to throw up his hands in frustration.
It was an awful stretch of basketball for the Bruins starting midway through the second half, their defense giving up open three-pointers and a dunk while they failed to get the ball past halfcourt on two possessions.
And still, UCLA led Iowa by 23 points.
The Bruins were so good in the first half Friday night that they could easily absorb a significant dropoff toward the end of their 94-70 victory at Pauley Pavilion that ended their four-game losing streak in emphatic fashion.
Read more: Known for his tough teams, Mick Cronin’s UCLA Bruins have been bullied in Big Ten
Going back to the clear mask that he last wore against Gonzaga late last month, UCLA forward Eric Dailey Jr. rediscovered his shooting touch while scoring a career-high 23 points before fouling out. He made eight of 12 shots in a strong across-the-board effort that also included four assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Forward Tyler Bilodeau added 18 points and guard Dylan Andrews had 13 for the Bruins (12-6 overall, 3-4 Big Ten), who broke out of an extended shooting slump by making a season-best 62.1% of their shots.
Guard Josh Dix scored 19 points to lead the Hawkeyes (12-6, 3-4), who committed 12 of their 15 turnovers in the first half.
This was supposed to be the start of a comforting seven-game stretch for UCLA that included five home games and relatively short trips across town to face USC and to Seattle to play Washington, a lot better than what the Bruins recently endured.
“In the last three weeks,” Cronin said this week, “we’ve landed twice in Newark to go to New York and Rutgers and…
[ad_2]Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/eric-dailey-jr-ucla-dominate-042444784.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2025-01-18 04:24:00
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