UCLA men’s basketball shows its promise on defense in exhibition win

SAN DIEGO — The applause began rhythmically, with considerable vigor.

It’s a tradition inside the Viejas Arena. Fans cheer until San Diego State scores its first points, which should take — at most — a few possessions.

More than seven minutes into No. 12 UCLA’s exhibition game against the Aztecs Friday night, those fans were still cheering…with so little punch that the gesture was barely audible.

They cheered one turnover after another, through bad passes and a moving violation, a player going out of bounds and sloppy ball handling in the backcourt. Less than five minutes into the game, the Bruins had forced seven turnovers. They scored the first 17 points of the game.

By the time San Diego State’s Sean Newman Jr. made a three-pointer, finally giving those weary fans’ hands a break, 7 minutes 41 seconds had passed and UCLA had made its own point.

These Bruins could be pretty good defensively.

“We just know that we guard,” UCLA point guard Donovan Dent said afterward, “is going to take us wherever we want to go.”

As expected, San Diego State made several runs, eventually getting within three points in the second half, but UCLA’s early defense and some late offensive execution sparked a 67-60 victory that showed many preseason positives.

“I didn’t tell our team about it, but I was happy they ran at us,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said. “I wanted to see how Donnie, Skyy [Clark] and the guys were going to react and I intentionally didn’t call a timeout. You can do it when you have maybe the two best guards in the country.

UCLA guard Skyy Clark dribbles during a preseason win over San Diego State on Friday.

(Jan Kim Lim / UCLA Athletics)

UCLA’s backcourt earned that praise on a night where Dent had 18 points, three assists and three steals alongside Clark’s 13 points, four rebounds and two assists, although the latter player was limited to 21 minutes due to cramping. The duo combined to make 12 of 12 free throws.

“You want a key to making free throws? » said Cronin. “Get the right guy to shoot.”

Continually attacking instead of just trying to maintain their lead, the Bruins benefited from a Dent layup in traffic and a Jamar Brown three-pointer after teammate Tyler Bilodeau made an extra pass, giving UCLA a 65-54 lead with 3:20 left and ensuring a safe bus ride home.

Making the Bruins’ performance even more impressive was coming off a night where Bilodeau (seven points) made just three of 10 shots and forward Eric Dailey Jr. sat out while continuing to get back into shape from a minor knee injury. UCLA also didn’t get much production from centers Xavier Booker and Steven Jamerson II, who combined for seven rebounds.

“We need to get over 12 rebounds on five points per game,” Cronin said.

The idea in playing this game was that San Diego State would provide a gauge of where the Bruins were in mid-October, an entire season ahead and so much work to do.

“I wanted the hardest game,” Cronin said, “that we could do without getting on a plane.”

The choice of opponent was intentional. Known for causing headaches, especially when trying to run an offense, the Aztecs can make scoring a single basket a difficult task.

But it was the Bruins who were making most of the mess. They forced 21 turnovers — 14 in the first half — and held San Diego State to 42.6 percent shooting, including 21.7 percent from long range. UCLA also limited the Aztecs to just four points in the paint in the first half before the Aztecs found much more success inside later in the game.

“I told them at halftime,” Cronin said of his players, “if we continue to give up four points in the paint per half, we will win the national title.”

In perhaps his most impressive stretch as a Bruin, Clark followed a first-half layup with a steal before getting around a defender for a three-pointer. After Clark made another steal, he followed Brown’s missed layup with a putback dunk.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Clark said with a laugh, crediting the offseason conditioning work.

San Diego State was also shorthanded, playing without center Magoon Gwath due to an unspecified injury. Brown, starting in place of Dailey, scored nine points and three steals.

With his team showing considerable determination, Cronin was clearly pleased with the early feedback on his latest roster overhaul.

“We got everything we wanted out of it,” Cronin said. “To come here and win with Tyler Bilodeau scoring three baskets, we wouldn’t have had a chance last year. No chance. So we’re a different team, honestly.”