How Trent Perry made his first collegiate start, he stepped into a familiar role.
UCLA the sophomore always plays the role of point guard in practice, going toe-to-toe with his star colleague Donovan Dent. Whenever they play together, Perry has to change his approach, becoming more aggressive in trying to grab the rebound.
But with Dent sidelined as a precaution with a muscle strain Monday night at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins needed Perry to take over the lead coordinator role.
After learning he was set to start shortly before kickoff, Perry received encouragement from his sidelined teammate.
“He really just said, ‘Keep going,’” Perry said of Dent. “Just gave me confidence throughout the game. You know, keep going right now, you're the engine and just keep your team moving. Just be a leader.”
Perry happily complied, leading the No. 15 Bruins to victory. victory 83-62 over Western Georgia it was much closer than the bill stated. The Wolves took a bomb-dodging approach that led to a flurry of 3-pointers and kept the game competitive for 25 minutes before Perry helped UCLA escape embarrassment on its home court.
Makes most of the highlight passes, including one in which he drove into the paint before throwing the ball to a teammate. Eric Daley Jr. in the corner on a three-pointer, Perry posted career-highs across the board with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds, as well as just two turnovers in 37 minutes.
It was a performance that pleased coach Mick Croninwho said his primary concern was Perry's defense and ability to take care of the ball while finding his teammates.
“Some of the games we ran, he read the defense and did a good job of it,” Cronin said. “That's what you have to do as a quarterback: If the quarterback can't deliver the ball, then you're a pretty limited coach.”
With UCLA holding a just five-point lead in just its second season in Division I, Perry ignited his team with a 10-0 spurt early in the second half that provided breathing room with a turnover and a transition break. That left the Bruins (3-0) ahead by 20 points, leaving West Georgia (1-2) with no way to catch them even on a night when the Wolves made 13 of 25 3-pointers (52%).
UCLA also survived thanks to its forwards Tyler Bilodeau21 points on seven-of-12 shooting and Daley's 14 points. The Bruins were much more efficient offensively in the second half, making 14 of 25 shots (56%) and finishing the game with a shooting percentage of 49.1%.
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau, left, tries to drive past West Georgia forward Kenneth Chime in the first half Monday.
(Ethan Swope/Associated Press)
But the result wasn't a foregone conclusion until about 10 minutes remained thanks to Western Georgia's success from behind the arc. The Wolves made nine of 13 3-pointers in the first half before cooling off significantly.
“We were losing shots,” said Perry, who was fouled on one 3-pointer early in the game. “Our deviation [total] was really low. The coach said that a comfortable team becomes comfortable players. And they were pretty comfortable in our home gym, especially in the first half.”
Cronin said he was grateful his team was challenged for a third straight by an opponent from a smaller conference after struggling to hit the ball. Eastern Washington And Pepperdine.
“It was great to be forced to compete tonight – we don’t need a false sense of security,” Cronin said. “I've been doing this for a long time, so the worst thing you can do is [an opponent] he just lays down, doesn't pass the ball, can't make a shot, you run and dunk, the crowd goes crazy. It's such a false sense of security about what awaits us on Friday.”
Cronin was referring to an early-season showdown against No. 5 Arizona at the Intuit Dome.
UCLA will need not only the return of Dent, but also the defensive intensity that made Cronin's teams much more formidable than they expected for much of Monday night. Dent will likely play against the Wildcats, Cronin said.
“He's beat up, he's got a couple different spots,” Cronin said. “It was a great chance to give him some rest.”
And in the process, learn that the Bruins have someone else capable of running their offense.
