UCLA's Perry Fueled by Arizona Blunder in Sac State Win

The Bruins' reserve guard felt he let his team down in their lone loss this season.

Nov 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) is defended by West Georgia Wolves guard Chas Lewless (2) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Mick Cronin wanted to send a message to his team ahead of their 79-48 blowout win over Mike Bibby's Sacramento State Hornets, which meant four of his five regular UCLA Bruins starters sat on the bench for the first five minutes of the game.

Regular reserve guard Trent Perry is continuing on his stellar sophomore leap and finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

"Trent obviously since you guys have seen him first start against West Georgia, and it’s definitely carrying over and he’s doing what he’s supposed to do as a point guard," Eric Dailey Jr. said postgame.

Nov 14, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) and center Xavier Booker (1) leave the court after defeated by the Arizona Wildcats 69-65 at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Perry felt like he let his team down in their loss to No. 5 Arizona last week. He was the only Bruin to score off the bench, and even then scored just three points.

He spoke to the media following the bounce-back blowout loss and reflected on what motivated him against the Hornets. Below is a transcript of Perry's few answers during his postgame press conference.

Trent Perry Postgame vs Sacramento State

Nov 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) is defended by West Georgia Wolves guard Brady Hardewig (1) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

On his mindset coming into the game

“Just go out there and give it my all and be confident. I felt like I kind of let my team in our last game against Arizona because I wasn’t too aggressive. I could have done better defensively getting more rebounds and things like that. I wanted to pick myself up and the team to just come out there with a lot of intensity on defense.”

On the starters vs the reserves in practice

“We were just battling it out and we looked up at the scoreboard and there it was. At the end of the day it doesn't matter if we’re all playing very hard in practice regardless. Whatever the teams may be one day, we are always going to play hard and we’re always competing no matter what.”

Nov 18, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Jamar Brown (4) and forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) defend Sacramento State Hornets guard Jahni Summers (4) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Mick Cronin on starting the reserves

"Here’s the story of the game – first half 33 deflections, second half, nine. The guys that started the game set the tone, that’s what they did in practice yesterday when they won by 20. They set the tone today. I gave the other guys a chance because they need to practice coming out of the locker room with more energy, and they didn’t get the job done."

Nov 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) talks with head coach Mick Cronin during the first half against the West Georgia Wolves at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Bruins (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) return to Pauley Pavilion on Friday to take on Presbyterian at 7:30 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network before heading to San Francisco to take on California in the Chase Center.

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