UCLA Basketball: Bruins Fall Short at Home to USC
The UCLA Bruins have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since early January when they lost 62-56 to crosstown rival USC on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.
It took a little while for the Bruins to get going, and they were beyond cold from behind the arc, finishing 4-of-19 from three.
UCLA rallied from 14 down to send the game into halftime tied at 34. The Bruins ended the first half on a 15-1 run.
But in the end, it was poor shooting that doomed the Bruins. Overall, they were 18-for-54 and could only score three points for the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The Bruins had four players in double digits, with Adem Bona leading them with 14. Sebastian Mack had 12, while Lazar Stefanovic and Aday Mara had 10.
Dylan Andrews was held scoreless.
Andrews was scoreless, but he did have a game-high five assists.
Bona made a statement, sending Pauley into a frenzy with this slam in the first half.
There weren't too many highlights from the second half. The UCLA guards looked lost most of the time, driving into the lane and picking up their dribble with nowhere to go and no open passing lane.
For the first time in a long time, UCLA looked like the team they were toward the beginning of the season, before the winning.
The worst news for the Bruins is that any hope of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid is not likely after losing two in a row. They will have to win the Pac-12 Tournament if they want an automatic berth.
Up next for the Bruins is a road trip to Washington with a game against the Huskies on Thursday and Washington State on Saturday.
