Bruins suffer tough upset loss at Nevada

On By Littum

UCLA Bruins no. 22 leaves Nevada with its first loss of the season. A 72-64 upset loss to New Mexico had a ton of mistakes and improvements to make for Mick Cronin’s group.

The Bruins went down early and were unable to recover from the impressive sharpshooting performance the Lobos put on. Shooting 51% from the field and 40% from three-point range, the Lobos couldn’t have shot better as they improved to 2-0.

Regardless of the Lobos’ shooting, 64 total points isn’t enough to win many ballgames. The Bruins turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 21 points off turnovers. Junior guard Dylan Andrews led the team with six turnovers.

The only Bruin to score in double figures was junior transfer forward Tyler Bilodeau. He tied season highs in a pair of categories, scoring 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting while grabbing 15 rebounds. It marks the first double-double for Bilodeau in a Bruins jersey.

The next closest scorer was freshman guard Trent Perry, who finished with 8 points. Guards Skyy Clark and Kobe Johnson would also add 7 apiece.

One of the biggest struggles for the Bruins was their rebounding ability. The Lobos grabbed another six rebounds while senior center Nelly Junior Joseph pulled down eight boards, four on the offensive glass. He would pour in 16 points with 6 of them coming from the free throw line.

The Lobos’ leading scorer was junior guard Donovan Dent, who finished with 17 points and eight assists. He had eight turnovers, but the Bruins were unable to stop him from getting to the rim and finishing. Almost all of his buckets came at or around the basket.

As the season progresses, the Bruins will need to find production from several other players besides Bilodeau. It’s one of the deepest teams in recent years for Cronin, and he has the talent for several big scorers. If they are able to play free basketball, this team will look very different.

The good thing for the Bruins is that they are able to identify the areas of improvement early in the year and can work throughout the month of November to fix those keys to be prepared for Big Ten play. It is much better to have the setbacks earlier in the year rather than late when it matters most.

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