LOS ANGELES — UCLA whittled a 20-point second-half deficit to two points but could get no closer in a 69-60 loss to Maryland on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins’ fourth straight loss and second in a row on their home court after their 29-game home winning streak ended earlier this week.
“I will give you my opinion and I was concerned about this after we played four NCAA Tournament teams and lost four bloodbaths, really good games and they’ve lost their confidence,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said afterward of his young roster. “This is just my opinion, I’m not saying I’m right but we’ve lost our confidence.”
Freshman guard Sebastian Mack had 17 points to pace UCLA (5-6), which went through multiple cold stretches and finished 1 for 14 from 3-point range to lose for the sixth time in the past eight games. Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews had 11 points and three assists. Lazar Stefanovic’s shooting slump continued as he missed all six of his shots and scored one point.
“Confidence … we just have (to work) smarter, harder and just get the job done,” Andrews said. “That’s really what it is.”
“We just have to come out there and hit first,” said Mack, who shot 5 for 14 from the field. “Be the tougher team coming into it. We tend to let guys hit us first and that’s hard in this game of college basketball. I’m learning that at an early age as a freshman but we have to hit first.”
“And match the physicality or even up it,” Andrews added.
Jahmir Young hit the Bruins plenty – early and often – on his way to a career-high 37 points (four 3-pointers) for Maryland (8-4), which won its fourth in a row despite struggling through an 11-minute scoring drought in the closing minutes. Donta Scott added 17 points and six rebounds for the Terrapins.
“Good teams that win games, they know why they win,” Cronin continued. “They take away the other team’s strengths … we really struggle with that. We’re just not tough enough to do it or smart enough.”
The Bruins, who were coming off a surprising 76-72 loss to Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, struggled offensively against one of their future Big Ten foes, shooting 31.5% from the field (17 for 54), 7.1% from 3-point range (1 for 14) and 73.5% at the free-throw line (25 for 34) in the game. Maryland had no such trouble, especially early, shooting 52% from the field, 58.3% from 3-point range and 83.3% at the free-throw line before halftime. Young had 23 of his points in the first half on 8-for-9 shooting (4 for 4 from behind the arc).
The Bruins trailed 48-28 early in the second half before mounting a comeback built largely on rebounding and defense.
Kenneth Nwuba’s three-point play capped a 12-2 run that cut the margin in half at 50-40 with 10:31 left. An Andrews three-point play and a pair of Mack free throws cut the margin to 55-49 with 8:11 left. UCLA’s Brandon Williams scored four points inside, then Nwuba drew a key offensive foul on Maryland junior forward Julian Reese with 5:45 left. Mack took advantage by going inside for a basket that pulled the Bruins within 57-55 with 5:27 left and further energized the crowd.
Young helped Maryland regain control, with a layup and a jumper on back-to-back possessions. After a Mack free throw followed a string of UCLA missed shots, Young added another layup for a 63-56 lead with 2:07 left. The Bruins’ Adem Bona made a pair of free throws with 1:54 left, but Young (who finished 13 for 19 from the field and 7 for 9 from the free-throw line) came through with a three-point play for an eight-point lead with 1:27 remaining. Maryland made enough free throws from there to close out the win.
“I told the guys he’s got to get 25 for them to win and he (nearly) got it at halftime,” Cronin said of Young. “We did an absolutely horrendous job on him, but congratulations to him. He played great, but we did an awful job. Could not have done a worse job.”
The Bruins are mired in their worst skid since also dropping four in a row to end nonconference play during the 2018-19 season, leading to Coach Steve Alford’s firing on Dec. 31, 2018.
“We just have to get better. We tell our guys every day that, especially at home, we don’t lose at home,” said Andrews, who shot 4 for 15 from the field (0 for 5 from long range). “We just have to come out and be better, the team is looking at me and Bas (Sebastian Mack) as leaders of the team, even you look at the stat sheet, they scored 15 points off our turnovers. That can’t happen. We have to take care of the ball and that’s on me and Bas.”
UCLA freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel came off the bench for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the Bruins’ 66-65 home win against UC Riverside on Nov. 30. Buyuktuncel, who missed three games, finished with four points and five rebounds in 12 minutes.
Bona picked up two fouls early and only played eight minutes before halftime. Bona finished with eight points, four rebounds and one block in 20 minutes before fouling out with 1:27 left in the game.
“Yes we need to get more out of Adem but we have a confidence problem,” said Cronin, whose team did not beat a Power Five conference team in nonconference play despite playing better in close losses to Marquette, Gonzaga, Villanova and Ohio State. “It’s very clear and what happens is they get rattled and then they don’t play the defensive assignments correctly so it snowballs, right?
“They’re young. They’re trying to live up to the letters on the jersey, the ball is not going in and they start to feel the snowball effect, that’s just my opinion.”
Cronin, in his 21st season as a college head coach with stops at Murray State and Cincinnati before UCLA, said it is tough to help a struggling team regain its swagger.
“Tough to do,” Cronin shared. “We have to find a way to get it in, gotta man up. I thought Kenny (Nwuba) manned up for a little while, came in and did some positive things for us and competed for us. He’s an older guy. It just seems like everybody is looking for the next guy to do it, would be my opinion.”
Julian Reese, Caelum Swanton-Rodger and Jordan Geronimo all fouled out for Maryland.
UP NEXT
UCLA opens Pac-12 play at Oregon State (8-3) on Thursday, then faces Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 30 in Eugene. UCLA’s Pac-12 home opener is Jan. 3 against Stanford.
