The Boston University men’s basketball team fell to the University of California Los Angeles
Monday night with a final score of 71-40.
Both teams came into the game looking to rebound from their respective losses last week. UCLA dropped out of the rankings from No. 22 after a 72-64 upset loss against the University of New Mexico.
The Terriers (0-3) lost their first game of the West Coast road trip against the University of San Diego last Friday with a final score of 74-60.
The Bruins imposed their physicality early, scoring 12 points in the paint during the game’s first eight minutes. Sophomore guard and former Patriot League All-Rookie Kyrone Alexander opened the scoring for BU with a three, followed by a 7-0 run from UCLA in the next two minutes.
“I was really proud of the guys’ effort,” BU head coach Joe Jones. “They played hard, they played with a lot of toughness. We didn’t always play smart … but they weren’t afraid to compete.”
The Bruins (2-1) improved their depth through the transfer portal this offseason, adding senior guard Kobe Johnson from the University of Southern California, among others. UCLA junior forward Tyler Bilodeau entered the game averaging a double-double through the first two games with 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds.
The Terriers managed to limit Bilodeau’s contribution, holding him to 6 points on 3-8 shooting.
“I thought Malcolm [Chimezie] did a good job on him,” said Jones. “We fouled a lot, but I thought we did a good job on him, taking away what he likes to do.”
The Terriers were missing two starters this game, senior guard Ethan Okwuosa and junior forward Otto Landrum, who both sat out due to injuries.
The Bruins pushed their lead to 17 before halftime, up 39-22 heading into the break.
The trap-heavy defense caused 28 turnovers from BU, and the Bruins capitalized with 36 points off turnovers in the contest.
“They put that type of pressure on us and made it hard for us to make any passes and decisions,” said Jones.
The Terriers struggled from the field all game, held to 30.4% shooting from the field and 25% from beyond the arc.
“As long as we’re taking good [shots] and the right guys are taking them, I think that number will turn,” said Jones. “But we haven’t shot the ball that well, and we only got to the foul line nine times.”
Despite the outcome, Jones was pleased with the team’s defensive effort and high intensity. The team struggled immensely on the defensive side of the ball earlier this season in the opener against Northeastern University.
The Terriers held the Bruins to 35% shooting from the field in the second half, and just 18% from beyond the arc.
Alexander had a good showing for the Terriers. He was the only BU player to break double-digit points and racked up 3 rebounds and 2 steals to go with his 10 points. Alexander missed some time this offseason with an ankle injury and struggled in his first two games.
“Hopefully we can get [Alexander] healthy and he can string along some good games for us, but he’s been out for a while,” said Jones. “He can hurt you in a lot of ways because he can pass, he can score and he’s a competitor.”
The Terriers look to bounce back this Saturday against Dartmouth College at Case Gym.
Jones wants to focus on the positives in practice and keep his team in good spirits this week, despite their winless record. The Terriers, ranked third in the Patriot League preseason poll, have yet to play an in-conference opponent this season.
“Although we turned it over a ton, I thought our guys did a great job of trying to hang in there, trying to keep going back at them,” Jones said. “We never gave in, we never gave up and I thought that was a good sign.”
