UCLA looks to continue its best shooting streak of the season when it takes on Cal Poly Friday night in Los Angeles.
The Bruins made 14 3-pointers on 26 attempts in Wednesday’s 90-77 home win over Arizona State. Skyy Clark matched his season-best of six lines to lead the long-range assault.
Donovan Dent led UCLA (8-3) with 20 points while Tyler Bilodeau and Clark added 18 each.
“We have guys who can score,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said afterward. “All we have to do is not take bad shots.”
From the outside, this doesn’t seem to pose a major problem. The Bruins are shooting 40 percent from behind the arc this season, which puts them first in the Big Ten and ranked 12th nationally.
Clark leads UCLA in treys (27) and 3-point percentage (51.9). He ranks third on the team with a 12.7 scoring average.
“I feel really good,” Clark said of his shot. “My teammates, they find me, and I try to do my best to reward them.”
The Bruins never trailed in beating the Sun Devils, but Cronin didn’t call it a joyful experience.
“All I can do is think about how we lost three games and what I should have done,” Cronin said. “So asking me if I’m happy is probably a rhetorical question because you know I’m not.”
Bilodeau is averaging a team-high 16.8 points. Dent is second with 12.8 after reaching the 20-point mark for the first time since the Nov. 3 opener against Eastern Washington.
Cal Poly (5-7) notched an impressive 92-85 road win over Utah on Nov. 20, so expect Cronin to remind his troops of that fact.
He also plans to discuss tempo control. According to KenPom.com, the Mustangs play at the second-fastest pace in the country. Meanwhile, the Bruins rank 329th out of 365 Div. I team.
The Mustangs have lost their last two games, including an 83-80 decision to visiting Montana State on Tuesday.
Cayden Ward scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Cal Poly, which trailed by 14 with just over 4 1/2 minutes left and couldn’t overcome the Bobcats.
“Everyone made mistakes, but we’re not really focused on results,” Ward said afterwards. “It’s more about the process. It’s a long season. It’s only December. So as long as we continue to improve game by game, we’ll be where we want to be.”
Ward is third on the Mustangs with 15.2 points per game. Hamad Mousa averages a team-high 20.1 and Peter Bandelj is second with 17.1.
Mousa made 31 3-pointers and Bandelj knocked down 27. Bandelj set a school record on Dec. 4 by making nine triples against Cal State Fullerton.
–Field level media
