LOS ANGELES — All season long, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin has complimented reserve center Aday Mara’s added strength in his sophomore season.
Mara put that extra strength to use Tuesday night, as he and fellow reserve guard Sebastian Mack put the Bruins on their back in the second half.
The duo scored all 41 of UCLA’s bench points as part of an 85-83 comeback victory over 18th-ranked Wisconsin at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA (13-6, 4-4 Big Ten) got a career-high 22 points from Mara, who made all seven of his shot attempts from the field and 8 of 11 free throws. Mack chipped in 19, forward Tyler Bilodeau added 16 and Skyy Clark added 12 for the Bruins, who shot 60% (15 of 25) after halftime.
Leading 82-80 with 10 seconds remaining, UCLA reserve forward/center William Kyle III had a key blocked shot on Wisconsin guard John Blackwell’s fallaway jump shot in the lane.
Wisconsin (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten), which led by as many as nine late in the first half, made 15 of 30 3-point attempts — including 10 in the first half — and were paced by John Tonje’s 24 points and Blackwell’s 23.
Tonje was 8 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 7 beyond the arc. The Badgers had their seven-game win streak snapped.
Postgame press conference
Turning point of the game
Both teams opened the contest shooting the ball well until an 8-0 Wisconsin run opened up a 26-20 lead with under eight minutes left in the half.
The Bruins went 1 for 11 in the key stretch and was held scoreless for four minutes.
UCLA had issues containing Tonje and Wisconsin's 3-point shooting, with 10 of its first 15 made baskets in the first half coming from beyond the arc. Tonje made all five of his 3-point attempts in the half.
Wisconsin, which was 10 of 18 from long range in the half, led 41-36 at the break.
The Bruins responded with an 11-1 run early in the second half to retake a 47-44 lead.
From there, Mara and Mack continued to spark UCLA and lead the way in pushing the advantage to 70-61 with 6:59 to play. Mack had three baskets, including two layups, and a pair of free throws and Mara gave the Badgers issues on both ends in the spurt.
Down the stretch, the Bruins hit nine of 10 free throws before an intentional Clark miss with 0.2 seconds remaining and Kyle’s big block helped preserve the victory.
Bruins standout on offense: G Sebastian Mack and Aday Mara
Wisconsin had no answer for Mack’s bully-ball drives and Mara’s size.
Four of Mara’s five rebounds were on the offensive glass.
The Bruins kept things simple, feeding one or the other continuously and running the offense through both players for most of the second half.
Bruins standout on defense: C Aday Mara and F/C William Kyle III
Mara was everywhere, whether it was altering and bothering shots in the paint or stepping out to contest a 3-pointer he blocked to force a shot-clock violation.
Mara and Kyle had two blocks apiece, with Kyle’s being the biggest of the game despite sitting for most of the second half because of Mara’s stellar play.
Why UCLA won
The Bruins, called out by Cronin for their toughness earlier this month, were the more physical team against one of the Big Ten’s perennially toughest of teams.
The Badgers had no answer for the 7-foot-3 Mara, with touches in the post either ending in a made basket or free-throw attempts.
UCLA made 21 of 28 free throws to take advantage of the free opportunities. Its offense made up for a tough night against Wisconsin’s outside shooting.
The 83 points allowed are the most UCLA has given up in a regulation victory since Cronin took over the program in 2019.
