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There was no other choice, really.
Aday Mara, UCLA’s go-to guy for easy points, had taken a tumble in the paint. No one else was open. The shot clock was about to run out.
So Sebastian Mack, who often blurs the line between fearlessness and recklessness, dribbled around a screen and rose from several feet beyond the three-point line.
As the sophomore guard backpedaled toward the sideline, his shot fell through the net with just 68 seconds left Monday night, providing the cold-blooded retort his team needed against a surging rival on its home court.
“We had to get something up,” said Mack, whose shot extended his team’s one-point lead to four. “I went to my sweet spot.”
USC struggles mightily at the free-throw line in its 82-76 men’s basketball loss to UCLA, leaving players and coach Eric Musselman searching for answers.
In doing so, Mack provided the sweetest of endings for the Bruins on a night so much had gone wrong at the Galen Center.
Their leading scorer sidelined by injury, their defense sagging, their ability to make free throws failing them, their point guard sidelined by cramps over the final five minutes, the Bruins pulled out a taut 82-76 victory over USC thanks to the player who took over what had been an ensemble performance.
With UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau being held out because of the ankle he turned against Washington, the Bruins (15-6 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) received step-up contributions from Eric Dailey Jr. (16 points), Mara (12 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks) and Dylan Andrews (12 points, six assists) on the way to a fourth consecutive triumph that followed four straight losses.
“We just, we got sick of losing, honestly, like, you know, we got sick of people talking about us, talking about the way we play and things, and the media and all that stuff,” Dailey said on the night he finally shed the series of masks he’s been wearing for a month. “So once we got sick of that, we just came together as a team and just said, ‘We gon’ just hoop.’ That’s what we’ve been doing these last few games, and we just gotta keep this going.”
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1. USC coach Eric Musselman gestures for his team to put their hands up on defense. 2. UCLA’s Aday Mara dunks over USC’s Clark Slajchert. 3. UCLA coach Mick Cronin cheers on his team against USC. 4. UCLA center Aday Mara, right, regains possession of the ball after an attempted steal by USC forward Rashaun Agee. 5. UCLA guard Kobe Johnson celebrates with teammates after a foul call against USC. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Mack kept the good times rolling, giving his team that four-point lead and following it with a pair of free throws after the Trojans (12-8, 4-5) had nearly wiped out a 12-point deficit.
Having pulled to within 73-72, USC had a chance to take the lead when UCLA’s Trent Perry fouled Saint Thomas after the Trojans forward grabbed a rebound with 1:36 remaining and his team was already in the double bonus.
Thomas stepped to the free-throw line … and missed both attempts.
“We put ourselves in position to win,” USC coach Eric Musselman said, “and we missed foul shots.”
The Trojans were mainly in the game because the Bruins did the same for a stretch, missing five free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one situation. But UCLA made all six free throws while closing the game on a 9-4 run, finally getting some separation.
Reserve forward Rashaun Agee scored a team-high 21 points for USC, which stayed close after making 11 of a season-high 31 three-pointers.
“We knew they kept the lane compact,” Musselman said of his strategy. “The 31 threes probably kept us in the game in the first half. In the second half, there were probably three to four threes that we shouldn’t have taken.”
UCLA looked like it might be on the verge of a runaway early in the second half thanks to Mara, its 7-foot-3 center, who made his first start of the season after coach Mick Cronin decided he would hold out Bilodeau based on what he saw from the junior forward in the morning shootaround.
After struggling with some physical play from the Trojans in the first half, Mara pushed back in the second. He blocked back-to-back shots by Thomas and took a lob from Andrews on the other end of the court for a layup that nudged the Bruins into a 48-37 lead.
Later, Mara backed down a defender before rising for a tough turnaround 15-foot jumper.
“His confidence is going up, and he’s already got the talent and the size,” Dailey said of his teammate, who has reached double figures in scoring in three consecutive games. “So when you get confidence that nobody can stop you, it’s scary.”
Meanwhile, USC fans didn’t hide their disdain for Trojan-turned-Bruin forward Kobe Johnson in his return to the Galen Center. They booed him during player introductions. They booed him when he grabbed rebounds. They booed him when he left the game and when he reentered.
Johnson countered when his three-pointer rolled in midway through the second half, extending Bruins’ lead to double figures and prompting a pack of UCLA students in the upper deck to chant his name.
But the Bruins would soon find themselves severely shorthanded. Andrews joined Bilodeau on the bench with 5:13 left, never to return, because of what Cronin described as full body cramps. Johnson took a seat a few minutes later when he fouled out.
That left Mack as one of the few facilitators left on the court.
With the Bruins’ lead down to one and a little more than a minute to play, he kept the ball — and his team’s fate — in his hands. He dribbled toward a spot in front of the team’s bench, one he said he likes to shoot from in clutch moments.
He rose for the shot that propped up a team.
“Big emotion,” said Mack, who stuck out his tongue and then raised his arms in celebration once he reached the backcourt. “You know, I got to embrace some love from the guys. But, I mean, I gotta say we competed.”
They eventually prevailed, thanks to the daring guard who dragged them where they wanted to go.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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