HONOLULU — What looked like it would be an easy afternoon for UCLA ended up requiring additional effort, but the end result earned the Bruins another crack at a familiar foe.
Freshman Sebastian Mack scored 16 points, Lazar Stefanovic added 13 points and UCLA beat Chaminade, 76-48, on Tuesday afternoon in the Maui Invitational. The Bruins (4-1) will square off with No. 11 Gonzaga (3-1) in the fifth-place game on Wednesday at 9 p.m. PT (ESPN2).
Adem Bona added 12 points and six rebounds and Aday Mara grabbed 10 rebounds to go with six points and two blocked shots. Mack, who scored 25 points in a 71-69 loss to No. 4 Marquette on Monday, was 7 for 15 from the field with six rebounds and five steals.
UCLA scored 13 of the opening 15 points of the game and added a 15-0 run for a 28-4 lead with 11 minutes remaining.
Chaminade made three consecutive 3-pointers to get within 15 points and the Silverswords trailed 36-21 at the break.
The UCLA reserves frittered away some of the big lead with poor defensive closeouts and turnovers, and then the starters returned and did much of the same. The Bruins turned it over 14 times in the first half before finishing with 18.
“We came out with the right approach and we looked literally unbeatable,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Then, our approach changed, and we started playing for ourselves instead of our teammates and our opponent stepped up their intensity and their help in the paint and we were very soft with the ball.
“Our post guys got stripped seven or eight times in the first half. Excuses are for losers. … At some point, you’ve got to have some pride.”
There remains a steep learning curve for a Bruins team that is young and inexperienced for the first time in several years.
“We’re so young,” Cronin said of a roster that includes seven freshmen. “I don’t know what I’m going to get from anybody at any given time.”
Chaminade also had a 9-0 run in the second half, on three 3-pointers, to get within 45-35 with 14:24 left. But that’s as close as the Silverswords would get. UCLA secured it by scoring 14 consecutive points to make it 72-44.
“It starts out with the defensive end. Without those steals, we don’t get those buckets,” said Mack, who had seven quick points after Chaminade cut the Bruins’ lead to 10 points. “I feel like once I turned it up on the defensive end is when we were able to get on that run.”
UCLA’s starters were forced to play more minutes than Cronin would have liked ahead of a game against Gonzaga. Stefanovic played 32 minutes, starting point guard Dylan Andrews played 30 and Mack logged 29. Bona played 23 minutes before absorbing a hit to the head and departing, though he appeared fine while watching from the bench.
After nearly upsetting fourth-ranked Marquette late Monday night, the Bruins had a quick turnaround (about 15 hours) before facing Chaminade and now have minimal time to prepare for their fourth meeting with the Bulldogs in as many years. Gonzaga has won the last three meetings, including a pair of memorable NCAA tournament thrillers.
“It would shock me if it wasn’t the same [type of] competitive game,” Cronin said. “I’d be disappointed if we didn’t compete; I’d be shocked if they didn’t compete.”
Jamir Thomas scored 17 points, with five 3-pointers, for Chaminade. Ross Reeves added 11 points.
“It starts out with the defensive end. Without those steals, we don’t get those buckets. I feel like once I turned it up on the defensive end is when we were able to get on that run.”
Freshman guard Sebastian Mack, after the win over Chaminade pic.twitter.com/XwB9JxaLYI
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) November 22, 2023