UCLA's defense wilts and a key signature win slips away

Nothing the No. 25 Bruins do to protect the rim works in 82-72 loss to No. 8 Gonzaga.

- BEN BOLCH

GONZAGA'S Graham Ike drives to the hoop against UCLA's Tyler Bilodeau, left, and Skyy Clark.

They tried a zone defense. They tried moving Tyler Bilodeau back to center. They doubleand triple-teamed in the post. They showed one defense to start a possession, only to shift into another.

Nothing the UCLA Bruins did to combat their lack of rim protection worked for more than a couple of possessions at a time.

And so a coach known for defense had to watch his team get bludgeoned inside once again while giving up an unusually frightening number of easy baskets.

"We just couldn't get the job done defensively," Bruins coach Mick Cronin said.

There doesn’t appear to be a quick defensive fix in sight for No. 25 UCLA after it suffered an 82-72 setback against No. 8 Gonzaga on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena in the West Coast Hoops Showdown, the Bruins faltering late in their final bid to secure a signature nonconference triumph.

UCLA was overmatched inside, the Bulldogs’ frontcourt tandem of Graham Ike (25 points) and Braden Huff (21 points) finding success at the rim far too often as a result of being able to make left-handed moves that should have come as no surprise.

"Our problem," Cronin said, "is we can't follow the scouting report — we don't play smart."

It also didn’t help that UCLA's late-game execution once again was pitiful, point guard Donovan Dent doing too little once he reached the rim as a result of a flurry of missed shots and bad passes.

"I had a couple of silly turnovers that I just can't have happen," said Dent, whose 12 points and 10 assists were partly offset by his four turnovers.