LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team could not overcome only scoring 23 points in the first half, as the Bruins dropped a 66-57 decision to Cal in Pauley Pavilion Saturday night.
Freshman guard Sebastian Mack scored 18 of his team-high 20 points in the second half. Sophomore forward Adem Bona added 12 of his 14 points in the second half and sophomore guard Dylan Andrews scored 10 points in the first half for the Bruins, who had won 11 straight games against the Golden Bears.
The Bruins, who were outrebounded by a margin of 39-29, are now 6-9 overall and 1-3 in the Pac-12 conference, which has them tied for last place in league play with California, Oregon State, Washington, and Washington State. UCLA is on a three-game losing streak and has lost four straight home games, after the team’s 29-game home winning streak ended against Cal State Northridge on Dec. 19.
Junior forward Jaylon Tyson had 17 points of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead Cal (5-10, 1-3). Senior forward Fardaws Aimaq had 13 points and senior guard Jalen Cone added 12 points for the Golden Bears.
Cal jumped out to a 9-0 lead early. The Bruins missed their first five shots from the field before 7-foot-3 freshman center Aday Mara knocked down a jump shot with 14:46 left in the first half. A 3-pointer by Aimaq, a 6-foot-11 forward, put UCLA down 12-2 with 13:12 remaining in the first. The Bruins’ cold shooting continued as they shot 27.8% from the field early (5 of their first 18 shots) and trailed 21-10 with 7:25 remaining before halftime.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin received a technical foul after throwing his suit jacket into the second row while arguing that sophomore guard Will McClendon should not have been called a defensive foul while guarding Cal’s Aimaq in the post with less than a minute to go before halftime.
The Bruins trailed 32-23 at halftime. UCLA’s Andrews who drained a buzzer-beating jump shot to end the first half, had a game-high 10 points on…
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