UCLA experiences little trouble against Idaho State

Field Level Media|published: Thu 21st November, 01:37 2024

Nov 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins forward William Kyle III (24) and guard Trent Perry (1) battle for the ball with Idaho State Bengals forward Blake Daberkow (32) in the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Sebastian Mack scored 21 points and Tyler Bilodeau added 20 to help UCLA record an 84-70 victory over Idaho State on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Mack connected on 15 of 16 free-throw attempts and Bilodeau made all four of his 3-point shots for the Bruins (4-1). Eric Dailey Jr. added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and collected seven rebounds for UCLA.

Isaiah Griffin scored 16 points and Dylan Darling added 13 for the Bengals (2-4), who fell to 1-4 all-time against the Bruins. Idaho State's win was the memorable 76-75 upset of a powerhouse UCLA team in the Sweet 16 of the 1977 NCAA Tournament.

UCLA shot 57.4 percent from the field, including 9 of 14 (64.3 percent) from 3-point range.

The Bengals connected on 44.4 percent of their attempts and were 11 of 33 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc. AJ Burgin added 11 points and Jaedyn Brown had 10 for Idaho State.

UCLA led by 15 before Bilodeau went on a personal 8-0 run, hitting two 3-pointers and a jumper, boosting the lead to 61-38 with 12:09 remaining.

A short time later, the Bruins' Dylan Andrews and Trent Perry each made a 3-pointer during a 35-second span to make it a 28-point margin with 10:24 remaining.

Idaho State later made six straight field-goal attempts as part of a 15-3 run to pull within 75-59 with 4:10 left.

Bilodeau hit a jumper to stem the tide as the Bruins finished off the victory.

Dailey scored 12 points and Mack added 11 while leading UCLA to a 41-27 edge at the break. Mack made all nine of his free-throw attempts in the half.

Idaho State led 12-10 after a 3-pointer by Griffin with 13:51 left in the first half before the Bruins scored 10 straight points. Bilodeau and Dailey each made treys during the burst.

The Bengals were later down by seven with 7:21 to play in the half, but UCLA scored 13 of the next 16 points. Perry was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and made all three attempts to cap the surge and make it 39-22 with 3:39 left in the half.

Griffin had 12 first-half points for the Bengals.

--Field Level Media