UCLA Basketball: Lafayette Coach Mike McGarvey Discusses Second Half Breakdown Vs Bruins

The UCLA Bruins grabbed a needed win in their second game of the season against Lafayette, but it wasn't easy. The leopards gave UCLA all they could handle, and it took a second-half comeback to ensure the victory.

By the time halftime rolled around, the Bruins found themselves down three to Lafayette. It was a surprising performance for the team, but they knew that there was a ton of game left to go.

The Bruins rallied in the second half, leading them to a 68-50 win at home. It was a sigh of relief from this UCLA squad, but also a reminder that they aren’t unbeatable, even against lower-tiered opponents.

Lafayette head coach Mike McGarvey gave some insight into what happened to his team in the second half, and he credited Bruins coach Mick Cronin for getting his guys going.

“It was a tale of two halves. I feel like we played with a competitive spirit, especially defensively. We just played a good brand of basketball. In the second half, it kind of flipped on us. We allowed them to go on a run in the middle of the second half. Give credit to Coach Cronin. He went small and he switched up a lot of screens. He made sure the team didn’t have too many defensive rotations. Also, I’d have to look at our shooting percentage in the second half. I’ll have to analyze what type of shots we took because I thought they were the same type of shots we took in the first half.”

Per Mike McGarvey via UCLABruins.com

The Bruins defense really started to come alive in the second half, making life tough on Lafayette. It was the main reason for them grabbing the win, and Cronin knows it.

“Once we started switching everything it kind of eliminated them. They didn’t make a three the last 17 minutes. They had seven made threes. They hit a couple right out the gate to start the second half and once we started switching everything they never made them anymore.”

Per Mick Cronin via UCLABruins.com

The Bruins will look to start out stronger going forward, otherwise, they face the reality of dropping games they should win. Next up for them is a matchup against Long Island, again at home.

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