UCLA’s Bryce Alford has no problem with his dad’s decision to sub him out against Utah

Bryce Alford spent the final five seconds of the performances that would make him Pac-12 Conference player of the week on the bench.

He wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t in foul trouble. He wasn’t celebrating a blowout victory.

He just wasn’t the best defensive option.

With UCLA leading Utah by one point and needing a final stop Saturday at the Huntsman Center, Bruins Coach Steve Alford inserted guard Aaron Holiday in place of his son.

“We wanted to be long, we wanted to be even more athletic, we were only guarding for five seconds,” Steve Alford said Tuesday, “so we went with that lineup.”

Smart move. UCLA prevailed after forward TJ Leaf contested Kyle Kuzma’s three-point attempt that was off the mark and Bruins center Thomas Welsh grabbed the rebound during an eventual 83-82 triumph.

Bryce Alford’s feelings weren’t hurt by being out of the game. Not even close.

“We had one possession left in the game, basically, and it was a defensive possession, so we put one of our best defenders in,” he said. “I don’t blame him.”

Steve Alford praised his son for his improvement on defense this season and said he would be on the court at the end of many games depending on need.

“There are some times he’ll be on the floor, there’s other times where we need an offensive play, a free throw or a jump shot or whatever it may be,” Steve Alford said. “Lineups can change.”

Bryce Alford’s Pac-12 player-of-the-week award was the second of his career. He finished UCLA’s first road weekend sweep of the mountain schools in four years averaging 26 points while shooting 57% and making 12 three-pointers in the two games.

Perfect opportunity

Bryce Alford may no longer hold the designation as the best free-throw shooter on the team.

“A hundred percent, that’s hard to compete with,” he acknowledged.

He was referring to Welsh, who has made all 24 of his free throws this season, including two with one second left Saturday to help the Bruins edge Utah.

Welsh has had more recent success late in games than Alford, a career 82.5% free-throw shooter who missed two in the final 30 seconds against Kentucky, the front end of a one-and-one with 8.9 seconds remaining in a two-point loss at Oregon, and a free throw with 2:38 to play against the Utes. He is at 81.8% for the season.

Welsh has made 78.3% of his free throws in his career, a remarkable figure considering he made only 60.9% as a freshman.

“I think it’s just the routine, really,” Welsh said of his improvement. “I really have a lot of confidence in it. It’s just about stepping to the line and doing the same thing over and over again.”

Etc.

Welsh on Utah fans celebrating a two-point basket in the final second while trailing by three points: “I was really confused. I looked back to the side just thinking, what, did I miss something? Do we have to go to overtime or something?” … Freshmen Lonzo Ball and Leaf were among six players on the team who made the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in the fall quarter with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher while taking at least 12 quarter units. Welsh and guard Jerrold Smith had a GPA of at least 3.5. … Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes, high school seniors who have signed with the Bruins, were chosen McDonald’s All-Americans. Steve Alford said the Bruins may add to their five-man recruiting class for next season. … UCLA moved up one spot to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press ranking, trailing Kansas and top-ranked Villanova.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch