UCLA
12-11,7-5Pac-12
Stanford
11-11,6-6Pac-12
Men's Basketball Tallies 82-74 Victory at Stanford
February 07, 2024 | Men's Basketball
STANFORD, Calif. – Sebastian Mack scored a team-leading 21 points to lead the UCLA men's basketball team past Stanford, 82-74, in a Pac-12 contest at Maples Pavilion on Wednesday night.
UCLA (12-11, 7-5 Pac-12) earned its sixth win in its last seven games, outscoring Stanford by a 47-41 margin in the second half. The Bruins registered their highest single-game point total of the season, eclipsing the 78 points scored against Long Island University on Nov. 15, 2023.
Mack was one of five UCLA players to score in double figures against Stanford (11-11, 6-6 Pac-12). Adem Bona totaled 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Will McClendon and Dylan Andrews each tallied 13 points. Lazar Stefanovic rounded out the group of double-figure scorers with 10 points.
Mack, who leads the Bruins in scoring average (13.5 points per game), made 6 of 11 shots and a career-best four 3-point field goals (4-for-7, from 3-point distance).
Leading 72-67 with 1:59 left in the game, Kenneth Nwuba poked away the basketball from Stanford's Maxime Raynaud under the hoop and Brandon Williams corralled the loose ball. Nwuba's steal led to a layup by Bona as the Bruins iced the victory.
"Alert and aware is what we try to talk about on defense, especially when you're playing a team that's so tricky on offense," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "You have to be alert and aware and try to make get your hand on the ball, because they can confuse you pretty easily. Kenny was really alert and aware on that play, got his hand in."
Raynaud led the Cardinal with a 20-point and 10-rebound effort. He was among three Stanford players to have scored at least 10 points.
UCLA made a season-best 11 three-point field goals, connecting on 25 attempts (44.0 percent).
The Bruins never trailed in the game's final 11 minutes on Wednesday night. UCLA trailed Stanford, 50-49, with 11:40 to play in regulation and took the lead on a layup by Bona with 11:24 to play. Bona converted on the ensuing free throw to cap the old-fashioned three-point play. After UCLA forced a turnover by Stanford, Bona slammed home a dunk to push the Bruins ahead, 54-50.
Leading by a 70-67 tally with under three minutes remaining, Stefanovic drew a foul and made both free throw attempts at the 2:15 mark, putting UCLA ahead of Stanford, 72-67. From that point in the contest, UCLA's advantage never fell to any fewer than five points.
The Bruins finished a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw stripe in the game's final minute.
Stanford had led the game by as many as five points early in the first half. The Cardinal claimed an 11-6 cushion on a 3-point basket by Raynaud with 15:32 to play. UCLA quickly answered with a 3-pointer from Brandon Williams – his fourth triple of the season – and another 3-point basket by Dylan Andrews with 13:52 left in the opening half.
The game's first half featured four more lead changes before UCLA entered the locker room at halftime with a 35-33 lead.
UCLA finished the game having recorded nine steals against Stanford, including two each by Bona and Stefanovic.
The Bruins will return to action at California this Saturday afternoon. Game time at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., is set for 2:30 p.m. (PT). UCLA's contest will be nationally televised on FOX, while the Bruins' radio broadcast will be available on AM 1150.
