UCLA’s second-half surge can’t erase ‘unbelievably soft’ start in loss to No. 25 Iowa
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- Donovan Dent finished with 25 points, but UCLA couldn’t complete a comeback from an 18-point halftime deficit in a 74-61 loss to No. 25 Iowa.
- UCLA’s Skyy Clark sustained a hamstring injury in the second half that prevented him from contributing late in the game.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — From an existential crisis to an inspired comeback, UCLA ran a gamut of emotions over the course of a few hours at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The final sentiment was one of disappointment.
Disappointment in perhaps the worst first half of the Mick Cronin era. Disappointment in sloppy play and a lack of toughness. Disappointment that it took so long to get going, necessitating near-perfection that didn’t materialize in the final minutes.
“You shouldn’t have to get down like that,” Cronin said, “to play with maximum effort.”
After whittling what had been a 24-point deficit to four with a little more than three minutes left Saturday, the Bruins could not find the miracle finish they were seeking. Iowa held on for a 74-61 victory, the No. 25 Hawkeyes making the plays they needed over the foul-filled final minutes.
UCLA coach Cori Close wants to be a pioneer in the growth of women’s basketball and wants the media to do a better job at highlighting its players.
Iowa converted eight free throws down the stretch as a result of what Cronin called “dumb fouls,” the Bruins failing to complement the dazzling offensive display of point guard Donovan Dent, who scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half.
“When a team’s struggling to score,” Cronin said, alluding to the Hawkeyes shooting only 36.4% in the second half, “the last thing you do is put them at the line — and that was being told to the guys over and over at every dead ball, at every timeout.”
Any lingering comeback hopes effectively ended when Iowa’s Tavion Banks went in for a dunk in transition to extend the lead back to double digits with 41 seconds to go. Compounding those frustrations, Hawkeyes point guard Bennett Stirtz added a 30-footer in the final seconds.
After a first half so appalling it appeared as if the Bruins still were on their lengthy holiday break, UCLA (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) rallied as if inspired by the rally towels inside the arena featuring the slogan “Impose Your Will.”
The Bruins went on an 18-2 run after going small, breaking out a full-court press in pockets and making seven of eight shots at one point. Dent was in the middle of it all, snagging a steal that led to a Brandon Williams dunk, driving for a couple of layups and rising for a midrange jumper while capitalizing on defense that prioritized taking away three-pointers.
“You can’t play much worse than we did in the first half,” Dent said, “so we just found our flow.”
When UCLA’s Trent Perry poked the ball away for a steal and went in for a layup in transition, the Bruins were within 47-42 with 10:44 left and Iowa’s only move was to call a timeout. But a big issue loomed for UCLA as guard Skyy Clark had gone to the bench because of a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game.
Stirtz finished with 27 points for the Hawkeyes (12-2, 2-1), who shot 56% during a first half that couldn’t have gone much worse for the Bruins.
It all started with an inability to finish at the rim. There were two Tyler Bilodeau misses at point-blank range — including a blown dunk — an Xavier Booker layup that was blocked and a Dent lob that was deflected and stolen. And that was just in the first five minutes.
“We missed four baby bunnies to start the game,” Cronin said.
Having tried to mitigate a 10-day layoff that was UCLA’s longest in seven seasons under Cronin with intense practices, the Bruins instead came out and played as if they had just met one another. Dent and Bilodeau combined for eight of their team’s nine turnovers in the half.
Lauren Betts finishes with 18 points and 12 rebounds as UCLA puts in a dominating effort in an 80-46 win over rival USC.
Equally atrocious was the Bruins’ defense, players leaving the perimeter open on drive-and-dishes that led to a flurry of three-pointers.
“We were giving them momentum,” Dent said of the confluence of mistakes. “The crowd’s getting into it, they’re hitting threes off the turnover in transition; we just can’t do it. It’s hard to win on the road when you have that many turnovers.”
Cronin was so disgusted with his team down by 23 points late in the half that he took off his suit jacket and flung it toward the bench while berating Perry during a timeout. UCLA went on to score the final five points of the half ... and still trailed 40-22.
“You can’t just play hard when the ball goes in,” Cronin said of his players’ mindset. “We were letting our offensive struggles affect us and we came in here with a game plan of, if you turn it over, you’re going to lose. ... I thought we were unbelievably soft on offense and defense.”
Among their biggest problems, the Bruins continue to get too little production from too many starters given that Bilodeau (10 points) was the only other Bruin to score in double figures. Forward Eric Dailey Jr. (four points in 30 minutes) and Booker (four points in 12 minutes) were nonfactors and Clark (five points) was unavailable after getting hurt with 15 minutes left in the first half, though Dent said Clark reported “feeling good” after the game.
Dailey has scored in single digits against the last three high-major opponents, and Booker has combined for 12 points over his last four games, never exceeding 14 minutes. Some of UCLA’s best play over the last month has come with a small lineup featuring Bilodeau at center, giving Cronin something to contemplate.
“It’s disappointing,” Cronin said, “how soft we were the first 20 minutes — extremely disappointing that I have to throw my coat and rip a suit to get guys to play with some toughness.”
By the time they found some it was too late, sending them into the cold Midwestern night in search of comforting answers.
