SEATTLE — If there had been such a thing as a must-win in early December, this might have been the case. for UCLA.
The Bruins fell out of the national rankings and had no quality wins to their name after nearly a month of lifeless basketball.
They found a pulse Wednesday night thanks to the 2-3 zone and an incredibly hot stretch from Tyler Bilodeau, who returned from a knee injury.
Bilodeau scored 16 straight points for UCLA early in the second half while battling cramps that required frequent trips to the bench and massage of his shins with a special device.
There was also the resurgence of Donovan Dent and long shot Skye Clark, who combined to help trap the Bruins. victory with a score of 82-80 over Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in their Big Ten opener.
It became more than scary late. After trailing by 16 points, the Huskies tied the score at 78-77 with 36 seconds left after the Bruins' stall tactics led to one empty possession after another.
Zoom Diallo was called for a questionable foul on Clark's 3-point attempt, and Clark made all three free throws to secure a four-point cushion.
Diallo got his revenge when he ran over Clarke, taking a break in which he broke the rules. After Diallo made the free throw, the Bruins regained a one-point lead. The Huskies fouled Dent in the backcourt and he made the first free throw but missed the second.
Diallo dribbled the ball furiously down the court before hitting a 3-pointer that missed the target, averting disaster for the Bruins and causing Dent to playfully grab Clark's shoulders as they ran off the court in jubilation.
Bilodeau scored 16 of his 21 points during an impressive stretch early in the second half, and Clark finished with 25 points for UCLA (6-2 overall 1-0 Big Ten). Dent added 17 points and eight assists and the Bruins defense got a little stronger, revealing a new wrinkle eight days after giving up 80 points in a loss to California.
With the Bruins up 16 points with less than five minutes left in the game, it was almost hard to remember that they trailed the Huskies (5-2, 0-1) by 11 early in the game without any answers for Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach. They eventually found it, switching to a zone defense that was rare under Cronin.
UCLA's starting lineup was completely intact following Bilodeau's return from a two-game absence with a knee injury, but top reserve Trent Perry was unavailable with a left ankle injury suffered earlier in the week in practice.
After receiving criticism from Cronin for folding in a time of need, the Bruins responded sharply in the first half to take a 36-32 lead at the halfway point.
The game went in a completely different direction early on, with Washington constantly attacking the basket and building a 16-5 lead. But UCLA pitched a 2-3 zone that confused the Huskies and caused a flurry of turnovers. The Bruins went on a 14-0 run, taking the lead on one of Clark's five 3-pointers in the first half.
Clark was also a strong defender, blocking two shots and picking up two offensive fouls for the Huskies. There was another good sign for UCLA: point guard Dent looked much more comfortable than he has lately, throwing the ball to Steven Jamerson for a dunk and shooting confidently.
For a while, it looked like Steinbach (29 points on 11-of-12 shooting) might single-handedly top the Bruins in his return from a high ankle sprain. Working his way to one easy basket after another, Steinbach scored the first six points of the game and made his first six shots before going to the bench after picking up his second foul with 5:19 left before halftime.
