UCLA
5-6,0-0Pac-12
Maryland
8-4,1-1Big Ten
Men's Basketball Loses to Maryland, 69-60
December 22, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – Despite mounting a strong second-half comeback on Friday night, the UCLA men's basketball team lost to Maryland, 69-60, before a crowd of 7,065 in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Freshman Sebastian Mack scored a team-high 17 points, and sophomore Dylan Andrews added 11 points, but the Bruins (5-6) could not overcome a 20-point second-half deficit and fell to Maryland.
Jahmir Young led all scorers with 37 points for the visiting Terrapins (8-4), while Donta Scott chipped in with 17 points and six rebounds.
The Bruins trailed by 20 points, 48-28, with 17:17 remaining in the second half. From there, UCLA mounted a strong comeback attempt, closing the gap to just two points, at 57-55, with 5:27 remaining. The Bruins were unable to tie or take the lead, and Maryland pushed its margin back up to 61-55.
"I don't see positive in losses," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "I will give you my opinion. I was concerned about this, after we played four NCAA Tournament teams and lost four bloodbaths, really good games. And they've lost their confidence. This is just my opinion, though. I'm not saying I'm right – it's my opinion. We've lost our confidence. At the beginning of games, we've got guys not coming close on free throws and open shots. So it's just hard to win there. It snowballs. It's just my opinion."
Early on, Bruins' sophomore Adem Bona came out strong with a pair of consecutive baskets on UCLA's first two possessions. Maryland raced ahead, 11-5, before Mack finished through contact at the time and converted on the and-one opportunity. His move helped to reduce Maryland's advantage to 11-8.
Maryland sank back-to-back 3-point baskets, stretching its lead to a first-half-best 13 points, at 26-13. Mack helped UCLA to answer on the next possession with a 3-pointer, cutting the Terrapins' cushion to just 10 points (at 26-16, with 7:22 left in the opening half). Maryland entered the locker room at halftime with a 43-28 advantage.
Mack finished the first half having scored a team-leading 12 points.
After the break, the Terrapins stretched their lead to 28 points, at 48-28, with just over 17 minutes to play in the contest. UCLA trailed, 50-31, before Andrews hit a jump shot in the paint and Buytuktuncel added a pair of free throws. Andrews followed for the Bruins with another basket, cutting Maryland's advantage to 50-37.
UCLA's scoring run continued, as the Bruins held Maryland scoreless from the 15:24 mark until Young sank a pair of free throws with 10:15 remaining. At that point, the Bruins had closed the gap to 10 points (at 50-40), before Young's two free throws.
Andrews and Mack made free throws on back-to-back trips to the line to cut the deficit to six, 55-48 with 8:13 remaining. Brandon Williams scored a few possessions later, making it a four-point game, 57-53 before Mack made another mid-range jumper to cut the lead to two, 57-55 with 5:27 to go. As part of the comeback bid, UCLA held Maryland scoreless from the field for over 11 minutes from the 15:24 mark to the 4:26 mark of the second half.
The Terrapins relied on Young down the stretch. He tallied baskets on two straight possessions to re-establish Maryland's lead, at 61-55, with 3:56 remaining in the contest.
The squads traded baskets down the stretch, and the Bruins could not complete the comeback.
UCLA will return to action at Oregon State on Thursday, Dec. 28, opening Pac-12 Conference play at OSU's Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. Game time is set for 7 p.m. That contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. UCLA will play at Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 1 p.m. (PT).
