This post was updated Dec. 19 at 10:01 p.m.
Buy games are supposed to be free wins.
Goliath fills their early season schedule with what should be an uneventful win at home, and David gets a healthy sum of cash despite an all-but-guaranteed loss.
Though the affair ended as expected, Friday had far more drama than Goliath was likely hoping for.
When the Bruins walked off the court at halftime, they found themselves down two to the Mustangs – a team that entered Pauley Pavilion two games below .500.
A game that UCLA men’s basketball (9-3, 2-0 Big Ten) should have won in its sleep instead became a restless night of tossing and turning – even if Cal Poly (5-8, 1-1 Big West) was ultimately laid to rest 108-87.
“Our guys weren’t ready for it,” said coach Mick Cronin. “I don’t think they understood to the extent of Cal Poly’s commitment, … but our guys rallied. Give them credit. Tightened up the defense, and, in the second half, we forced 24 turnovers.”
Cal Poly had just one Power Four win entering Friday, a victory over a Utah squad which has just one Power Four win itself.
Still, the Mustangs were able to shake a Bruin team that has yet to find game-to-game consistency.
“Your job is to make sure your team does what you tell them to do by any means necessary,” Cronin said. “We failed today, so I’m not happy with myself (and) my staff.”
Skyy Clark – who shot 17-for-28 from beyond the arc over his previous four games – got the Bruins started Friday. By the 12:29 mark in the first half, the senior guard was 4-for-7 from the field and 3-for-6 from deep but didn’t take another shot for nearly 10 minutes.
In the meantime, the rest of the Bruins failed to get much going from deep.
Outside Clark’s contributions, UCLA shot 1-for-5 on 3-point attempts entering the break while Cal Poly sank 9-for-17.
Cronin also said he took issue with the Bruins’ fouls on 3-point attempts.
“It’s the worst play in basketball,” Cronin said. “I’ve gone years with that happening zero times or no times. … You are not allowed to foul a jump shooter if you play for me – never. Never.”
Seniors guard Donovan Dent and forward Tyler Bilodeau remained hot on offense – each having nine points in the first half – but the Mustangs had three players in double digits by the intermission to the Bruins’ one, Clark.
However, David could no longer get his stone to hit its mark as the Mustangs’ 0-for-8 stretch to open the second half – coinciding with a 15-0 Bruin run – effectively wiped away the prospect of an upset.
Clark finished with a career second-best 30 points – his third 20-plus point showing of the season after recording none in the 2024-25 campaign.
“Staying at a place (UCLA) and having a coaching staff that trusts me and are pouring into me – that’s huge,” Clark said. “I’m at the same school I was at last year, so I’m used to the system.”
And Dent’s 16 points marked his fifth consecutive 10-point showing since recording just three points in UCLA’s loss to California on Nov. 25.
The point guard paired a season-high 11 assists and no turnovers with 5-for-10 shooting from the field to record his second double-double of the season – his first coming Saturday against Gonzaga.
“It’s pretty easy,” Dent said. “This team – we have a lot of weapons on the offensive side.”
Bilodeau, too, had his fifth consecutive game with double-digit points since coming back from a sprained knee. The Bruins’ leading point scorer finished with 24 points on 7-for-9 shooting while adding six boards.
The Mustangs lost their feel from deep – shooting 5-for-15 from beyond the arc in the second half – and had three players with four fouls by the 8:21 mark while the Bruins surged in the interior, outscoring their opponents 26-14 in second-half points from the paint.
“We got to come out in the game better defensively,” Dent said. “Second half, we stepped it up.”
UCLA finished with six players recording at least 10 points – including junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr.’s first double-digit affair since Dec. 6, fifth-year guard Jamar Brown’s first since Nov. 18 and sophomore guard Trent Perry’s fifth of the season – though that also came with Cronin seldom using a listed center.
Junior forward/center Xavier Booker made the start but played just three minutes – most likely due to a lingering ankle injury suffered in practice – and redshirt senior forward/center Steven Jamerson II saw just two minutes on the floor.
“Hard for us to play a center in this game,” Cronin said. “You can see why I put five guys behind the line.”
The halftime buzzer seemed to wake up the Bruins like an alarm.
And the final score – UCLA’s first triple-digit showing since Dec. 17, 2024 – covered its first-half deficit in buckets and quilted sheets like a bad dream.
