UCLA men hold off Northwestern ...Middle East

LOS ANGELES — After upsetting No. 4 Purdue, the UCLA men’s basketball team could have overlooked a lesser opponent in Northwestern. The Bruins handled the Wildcats in dominant fashion instead.

UCLA beat Northwestern 71-64 to earn its fourth win over the last five games.

The Bruins (14-6, 6-3) shot 26 for 53 (49%) from the field and went 8 for 18 from 3-point range. They held the Wildcats to 37.3% from the field, and made NCAA leading scorer Nick Martinelli work for every look as he needed 19 attempts to score 20 points.

Tyler Bilodeau scored 18 and finished 7 for 11 from the field. Sophomore Trent Perry also had 18 points, scoring in double-digits for the fifth time in six games since entering the starting lineup for Skyy Clark (hamstring).

Bilodeau transferred the momentum from his game-winning shot on Tuesday to Saturday. He started the game 6 for 6 and made a 3-pointer from the left wing to give UCLA a nine-point lead. Northwestern answered with 3s from Jordan Clayton and Max Green to restore a one-possession margin.

Perry navigated the lane for consecutive baskets in the paint. He bumped a Northwestern defender to create space for the first, and pump-faked passed another for the second.

Bilodeau hit his fourth 3-pointer. Eric Dailey Jr. skipped a pass to Jamar Brown for an open 3. Perry dribbled into a 15-footer in the short corner to help UCLA build a double-digit advantage at halftime.

Donovan Dent continued to carve the opponent’s ball-screen coverage. He fed Bilodeau on three of those first-half 3s. He penetrated and kicked to Dailey for a corner 3-pointer early in the second half, and drove for a scooping right-handed layup to give UCLA a 50-36 lead.

Despite another positive effort, Dent still had some struggles. He botched a wide open dunk, leading head coach Mick Cronin to sit cross-legged on the bench, pondering the mistake for an entire minute. He threw an errant behind-the-back pass that got a scream out of Cronin, and went just 2 of 7 from the free throw line.

UCLA was efficient on offense, but its defense proved the difference.

After Tuesday’s game, Cronin acknowledged “it’s been a fight this year” to press the right buttons on defense. Recently, Cronin has seen improvements in connectedness, awareness and effort.

It has resulted in UCLA holding four of its last five opponents under 70 points.

On Saturday, the Bruins stayed in front of Wildcats’ drivers, played strong help defense, timely double-teamed Martinelli, and, most importantly, ended most possessions after one shot — grabbing rebounds on 75.7% of Northwestern’s misses.

Part of the recent emphasis on UCLA’s defense has meant a slower pace on offense to minimize opponents’ possessions. It’s a risky strategy, however, because if the Bruins aren’t opportunistic offensively, opponents can keep games close.

The Wildcats, suffocated by the Bruins’ defense, didn’t make a field goal for a 9:42 stretch in the second half, but with a handful of free throws and a 3-pointer from Green, they found themselves only down six with 2:54 to play.

After a timeout to help UCLA regroup, Perry found Brown for a 3-pointer that restored comfort.

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