UCLA Basketball: Bruins Start Conference Schedule With a Much-Needed Victory
In much need of a confidence boost, the UCLA Bruins looked to their best player for some answers. The Bruins had been on a bit of a skid in recent weeks after failing to come away with a signature non-conference victory.
Fortunately for Mick Cronin's bunch, Adem Bona answered the bell in a big way.
UCLA (6-6) began Pac-12 Conference play with a road win, beating the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis by a score of 69-62.
Bona was one of five Bruins scoring in double-figures on the evening. He led the team with 13 points. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and was tops in both steals (3) and blocks (3).
The big thing for Bona in this contest involved staying on the floor. He's battled foul trouble virtually the entire non-conference schedule. In this contest, he picked up only one foul. Unsurprisingly, Bona's productivity was more akin to what UCLA was expecting of him before the start of the year.
UCLA looked very pedestrian in the first half. Oregon State was playing with far more energy, and the Bruins were not hitting shots.
In the second half -- perhaps spurred on by Bona's electric blocks at the rim -- the team looked completely different. Dylan Andrews played far more aggressively. He got into the paint at will and was making smart decisions.
The freshmen forward tandem of Brandon Williams and Berke Buyuktuncel gave the team a big lift. They combined for 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists in limited time on the floor. We could see a scenario where these two play much more moving forward (as UCLA perhaps strays from the lineup with two big men at the four and five spots).
Ultimately, getting a road win is never an easy task. UCLA did so with its very young roster. This is a good building block for a team in need of some confidence.
The Bruins will continue conference play Saturday in Eugene versus the Oregon Ducks. Tip-off for the contest will begin at 1 p.m. PT. It's scheduled to be aired on CBS.
