LOS ANGELES – The UCLA Bruins traded in the typical sights of Pauley Pavilion for a slightly more glamorous venue on Friday night: the Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
The stadium change was part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Los Angeles Series, a two-part event that featured USC men’s basketball vs. Southern Iowa earlier in the day and the Bruins’ matchup against the Arizona Wildcats later in the night.
As the game drew closer, the stands filled with Bruin blue and gold as well as Wildcat red and fans roared with every possession.
The event also honored a UCLA legend, the late Bill Walton. The fans in the makeshift student section where “The Wall” would typically be during Clippers games wore tie-dye shirts reminiscent of the iconic Bruin and Hall of Fame NBA player and the halftime ceremony honored Walton with his wife and two sons in attendance. Legendary Bruins Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Jamal Wilkes joined the family at half court and spoke on Walton’s legacy as both an enthusiastic competitor and a friend.
When it came to the play on the court, both teams put on a show. It was a back-and-fourth battle and while UCLA snuck out to an early lead, Arizona surged ahead at the end of the first half with a 28-25 lead.
The second half played out similar to the first. UCLA turned up their scoring effort, but they were just out of reach throughout. When the buzzer sounded, the Wildcats finished ahead 69-65.
While the Bruins created plenty of their own offensive opportunities with 19 points off of turnovers, they gave up plenty of opportunities as well. The Bruins committed a costly 16 turnovers, which decided the game in the end.
“Sloppy with the ball,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said. “If the second half we take care of the ball, we score 40 points. And that’s with being abysmal late in the game.”
While Friday’s loss stung, Cronin isn’t ready to hit the panic button yet. It’s still early in the season and the Bruins are still finding their footing, particularly with Eric Dailey Jr., who missed several of the preseason workouts and saw his adjustment to the new team delayed by the recovery of an injury.
“Eric [Dailey Jr.] didn’t practice in October, literally for a month,” Cronin said. “He’s an unbelievable worker, so he’s stayed in shape… He’s only going to get better with reps… so, still some things that he’s going to get a lot better at.”