LOS ANGELES — After a back-and-forth second half, the UCLA men’s basketball team trailed UC Riverside by one point with 10.9 seconds left on Thursday night. That’s when UCLA sophomore point guard Dylan Andrews received the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast, banking in an off-balance shot from the right side of the lane with 3.4 seconds left to give the Bruins a 66-65 victory on a night when they were without head coach Mick Cronin.
The Bruins, who had an 11-point lead with 8½ minutes to play, fell behind 65-63 when Nate Pickens made two free throws with 48.8 seconds left. Aday Mara got one back at the foul line at 41 seconds but after running the clock down, the Highlanders put up an airball and lost the rebound out of bounds at 9.5, setting the stage for Andrews’ dramatic drive.
The Bruins (5-2) then prevented the Highlanders (3-5) from getting off a final shot, which preserved their hard-fought victory on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. The victory extends UCLA’s home winning streak to 29 games, the longest active home winning streak in the nation.
Andrews scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the first half. Sophomore guard Will McClendon added 11 points.
Isaiah Moses scored 21 points (16 in the second half) to go with three rebounds and four assists for UCR. Senior forward Kyle Owens, a former Crespi High standout, scored all 18 of his points in the first half, going 5 for 7 from 3-point range. Pickens added 14 points, 10 in the second half.
The Highlanders finished 14 for 32 from 3-point range, with Moses and Owens making five each.
Playing without Cronin, who missed Thursday’s game due to a reported COVID illness, UCLA led UCR 34-32 at halftime.
The Highlanders went 5½ minutes without a field goal in the second half and UCLA turned that into a 13-1 run to take a 55-44 lead with 8:27 to play. Six points came from the foul line but McClendon and Aday Mara capped the surge with a 3-pointer and dunk, respectively.
Riverside…
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