LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team used a balanced effort with strong defense and a renewed offense led by sophomore forward Adem Bona, to beat Washington 73-61 at Pauley Pavilion Sunday night.
UCLA’s Bona had a team-high 22 points, including five thunderous dunks. The 6-foot-10 Pac-12 preseason first-team selection shot 76.9% from the field on 10 of 13 shooting. Junior forward Lazar Stefanovic had 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard Sebastian Mack had 10 points in the second half. Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews added seven points and a career-high eight assists.
UCLA, who had 20 assists, shot 50% from the field on 25 of 50 shooting, including 42.9% from three-point range on 6 of 14 shooting. The Bruins defense held Washington to 40.4% from the field, including 32% shooting from the field in the first half (8 of 25), highlighted by going 1 of 10 from three-point range before halftime.
The victory improved UCLA’s record to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in Pac-12 play, which moved the Bruins out of last place in league standings. The win also broke the team’s four-game losing streak and was the team’s first win at Pauley Pavilion since a 66-65 win against UC Riverside on Nov. 30.
Washington (10-7, 2-4) was led by senior guard Sahvir Wheeler who scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the second half. Senior forward Keion Brooks Jr. had 12 points. Senior forward Moses Wood added 10 points.
The Bruins went on an 11-0 run early to take a 14-7 lead with 11:31 left in the first half on Bona’s two-handed slam dunk off a nice assist from freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel and a fast break layup by freshman guard Ilane Fibleuil.
A big corner three-pointer by freshman guard Jan Vide put UCLA up 19-11 with 8:01 remaining in the first half. Senior center Kenneth Nwuba’s dunk put the Bruins up 21-11. Stefanovic’s three-pointer capped off an 8-0 run and gave UCLA a 24-11…
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