RECAP: Wisconsin basketball falls to UCLA in road nail-biter

[ad_1]

Wisconsin basketball (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten) fell to UCLA (13-6, 4-4 Big Ten) 85-83 in a road nail-biter on Tuesday night.

The defeat ended UW’s seven-game win streak and marked the Badgers’ first loss since they fell to No. 19 Illinois on Dec. 10.

Despite establishing a nine-point edge in the closing moments before intermission, Wisconsin could not contain the Bruins’ interior attack in the second half. 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara, who averaged just over four points per contest entering the matchup, dropped a career-best 22 points, 15 of which in the second half, to fuel UCLA to the win.

For the first 10 minutes of the second half, the score remained neck-and-neck until Mara and fellow bench contribution Sebastian Mack orchestrated a ferocious 10-4 scoring burst to build a seven-tally edge.

UW’s big three — John Tonje, John Blackwell and Steven Crowl — kept Wisconsin’s offense afloat for the remaining eight minutes, and the Badgers actually possessed the ball with a chance to tie in the game’s waning seconds.

Final in Westwood

UCLA 85
Wisconsin 83 pic.twitter.com/63JVWHyd4d

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 22, 2025

Blackwell, who finished with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists, had his game-tying fadeaway attempt blocked with roughly nine seconds remaining on the clock. Wisconsin immediately fouled, and UCLA ended the game from the foul line.

Tonje dropped a game-best 24 points, 16 of which arrived in the first half, on an efficient 8-of-9 from the floor and blistering 6-of-7 mark from deep. Crowl added 13 points and five boards, and Max Klesmit finished with eight points and three rebounds.

UCLA’s bench proved the difference on Tuesday. The Bruins accumulated 41 bench points courtesy of a pair of stellar statistical outputs for both Mara and Mack. The Bruins’ offense played above par as well — UCLA scored roughly 10 more points than it averages on a nightly basis and shot over 50% from the field.

Wisconsin will look to return to the win column in its Jan. 26 contest against Nebraska at the Kohl…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/recap-wisconsin-basketball-falls-ucla-052151344.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-22 05:21:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.