Whatever it takes.
Having rolled off one win after another the last two weeks, UCLA found another way to prevail Monday night.
Their leading scorer sidelined by an ankle injury, their offense having gone cold, their defense reeling, their ability to make free throws having failed them, the Bruins pulled out a taut 82-76 victory over USC thanks to some heroics from Sebastian Mack.
The reserve guard’s deep three-pointer with 1 minute 8 seconds left turned back the Trojans to give UCLA its fourth consecutive victory after the Bruins finished the game scoring nine of the final 13 points.
With 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 performances from Eric Dailey Jr. (16 points), Aday Mara (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Dylan Andrews (12 points, six assists).
But Mack was the biggest protagonist, rising for the three-pointer that gave his team a four-point lead. After USC’s Chibuzo Agbo missed a three-pointer, Mara grabbed the rebound and the Trojans then fouled Mack, who made two free throws to give the Bruins some separation.
It was a different story for the Trojans, who missed five free throws in the last five-plus minutes.
A prolonged UCLA cold spell that included five missed free throws helped USC wipe out a 12-point deficit, the Trojans having a chance to take the lead when guard Saint Thomas stepped to the free throw line with his team down by a point with 1:37 left. He missed both attempts.
Reserve forward Rashaun Agee led USC (12-8, 4-5) with 21 points.
UCLA looked like it might be on the verge of a runaway early in the second half thanks to its big man. Mara blocked back-to-back shots by Thomas and took a lob from Andrews on the other end of the court to nudge the Bruins into a 48-37 lead.
There were more impressive Mara moves to make, the 7-footer backing down a defender before rising for a tough turnaround 15-foot jumper.
UCLA guard Sebastian Mack dribbles though a double team of USC guards Desmond Claude (1) and Clark Slajchert in the first half.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
USC fans didn’t hide their disdain for Trojan-turned-Bruin forward Kobe Johnson. 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. They booed him most vociferously when he fouled out with 1:54 left.
The only time they cheered him? When he was called for traveling in the first half.
Meanwhile, Mara was having a tough go of things early in his first start of the season. His first four post touches resulted in a missed jump hook, a turnover when the ball was stripped, a dunk that was wiped out by a charging call on teammate Skyy Clark and a missed shot from point-blank range.
Mara finally broke through with a dunk and added another dunk off a lob from Andrews but was not nearly as dominant as he had been in his previous two games with extensive playing time. Part of it had to do with the referees allowing the Trojans to be incredibly physical against Mara without calling fouls.
UCLA’s 42-37 halftime lead came courtesy of blistering shooting — the Bruins shot 68.2% and made all nine free throws but allowed USC to remain close because the Trojans made seven of 17 three-pointers (41.2%).
The Trojans couldn’t keep it up.
