The missing part of Mick Cronin’s formula has lain in Adem Bona’s hands all season.
Keeping the sophomore forward/center – who averages 3.6 fouls per game – on the floor to catalyze the offense has been a repeated area of import for the fifth-year coach.
Bona delivered on his end Thursday night, dodging whistles for the entire first half while his teammates racked up just shy of a dozen.
Yet even with the missing variable answered, Cronin still couldn’t solve for a winning solution.
“Obviously, it didn’t help us,” Cronin said.
Reaching a double-digit deficit with just under seven minutes remaining in the opening frame, UCLA men’s basketball (14-16, 9-10 Pac-12) couldn’t keep up with No. 5 Arizona’s (24-6, 15-4) high-tempo offense, dropping the home iteration of the rivalry 88-65 for the first time since 2017 and handing the Wildcats a sixth victory in seven tries.
“We can’t guard Arizona. They’re just better than us,” Cronin said. “They’re better than us on the backboard, they’re better than us on offense, they’re better than us on defense. … If Adem doesn’t have a really good game, we have no chance. That’s a lot to put on one guy, that’s unfair, but that’s just our reality.”
Despite keeping Bona on the floor for 90% of the first half, the Bruins trailed the Wildcats by 17 at the break.
UCLA kept pace with the second-best offense in the nation for the opening 10 minutes, tying the game at 15 behind an offensive rebound and second-chance layup from Bona.
But the Bruins’ top-25 scoring defense could only keep its opponent down for so long.
The Wildcats jump-started a 29-12 run to end the half behind a triple from Kylan Boswell. Arizona’s hybrid guard combined with backcourt partner Caleb Love for 20 of his team’s 44 first-half points.
On the other end, Bona and sophomore guard Dylan Andrews buoyed their team’s efforts with 21 of UCLA’s 27 first-half points. Guards freshman Sebastian Mack and redshirt sophomore Will McClendon were the only other scorers.
Arizona continued to push UCLA in the second half, never letting its lead fall below 15. The Wildcats narrowly missed their 16th 90-point game of the season but still posted the third-most points the Bruins have allowed all year.
“Sebastian (Mack), Jan (Vide), Berke (Buyuktuncel), Brandon (Williams) and Will (McClendon), they get beat every time somebody dribbles the ball,” Cronin said. “Most teams, they have to run stuff to hurt you; all you’ve got to do is drive by us.”
Bona received his first whistles in the latter frame, picking up four in just over five minutes.
But by that point, it hardly mattered whether Bona was on the floor or not. His team trailed by over 20 at the time of each foul.
“I wanted to be more aggressive to help my teammates more, block more shots, to be able to contest more shots,” Bona said. “Nothing changed (in between halves), I just wanted to help more. I got caught in the fouls again.”
The former Pac-12 Freshman of the Year didn’t retake the court after his fourth foul, ending his night with 10 points, five rebounds and five blocks. Junior guard Lazar Stefanovic notched all 20 of his points in the second frame, narrowly beating out Andrews for the team lead in scoring.
At game’s end, the Bruins exited the court to “U of A” chants from Arizona fans – the sparse home crowd rapidly dissipating.
“We didn’t play good enough,” Stefanovic said. “And that’s the bottom line.”
