In case anyone had forgotten about him amid all the newcomers dotting UCLA’s roster, Sebastian Mack provided a reminder with every foray toward the basket Wednesday night.
He’s still here. Dismiss him at your own risk.
On a night that the frontcourt duo of Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr. continued to provide a smorgasbord of offense for the Bruins, Mack was their leading scorer on the way to an 84-70 victory over Idaho State at Pauley Pavilion.
Mack contributed 21 points off the bench on the strength of 15 free throws for the Bruins (4-1), who have won three consecutive games in convincing fashion since their setback against New Mexico earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Bilodeau and Dailey continued to carry a group of starters that hasn’t gotten much offensive production from the guards. It was a similar story Wednesday, with Kobe Johnson, Lazar Stefanovic and Skyy Clark combining for just 10 points.
Bilodeau single-handedly doubled that output with 20 points on eight-for-14 shooting, including four of four from three-point range for a team that made nine of 14 shots from beyond the arc. Dailey added 16 points while making seven of nine shots to go with seven rebounds.
Their efficiency prevented defenders from sagging off to contest UCLA’s most prolific offensive weapon, who continually drove the open lanes that invited a Mack attack. The Bengals kept fouling the sophomore guard and sending him to the free-throw line, where he made 15 of 16 attempts.
Mack’s presence alone could be considered a victory for the Bruins. He could have joined several teammates who departed in the offseason amid the influx of six transfers. He stuck it out, heeding his coach’s advice.
“The last thing you should do,” Mick Cronin said, repeating what he told Mack. “You should stay here, let me coach the hell out of you and get everything out of you that you need to get out of you so you can become who you want to become. Choose hard. It works for people. Choose hard. Don’t choose easy.”
Mack said he trusted his coach’s promise to make him a more complete player.
“Just be able to guard, shoot, score whenever I look at my teammates,” Mack said of the things he’s working on, “just all around, pretty much.”
Mack displayed unselfishness in the first half with a lob to forward William Kyle III for a thunderous dunk that enlivened the crowd.
After using a small lineup in the season’s early going, Cronin said he would eventually like to play the 6-foot-9 Kyle alongside the 6-foot-9 Bilodeau and 6-foot-8 Dailey to combat the larger bodies he expects to face in the Big Ten.
“When those bigger teams come,” Bilodeau said, “we’re definitely going to need the size and the strength in there.”
One possible snag is the lack of a reliable backup big man. Cronin hasn’t been happy with the performance of center Aday Mara, who had two turnovers in as many minutes Wednesday.
“Aday’s got to play better,” Cronin said, “so then we’ve got a sub.”
Since infuriating their coach with a lack of toughness against New Mexico, the Bruins have pleased him with improved competitiveness and defensive intensity.
Next on Cronin’s to-do list? Get better at rebounding, reducing turnovers and making shots.
There was some progress Wednesday in that the Bruins made 27 of 47 shots (a season-high 57.4%) and committed a reasonable 11 turnovers. But they gave up 10 offensive rebounds after putting a lid on the basket in practice this week to emphasize boxing out.
UCLA also exhibited some defensive slippage, particularly over the final 10 minutes, after holding its three previous opponents to 50 points or fewer at home this season.
Idaho State may not have much name recognition, but the Bengals have a proud history against UCLA. Some might say they ended the Bruins basketball dynasty with a 76-75 upset over a Marques Johnson-led team in the second round of the 1977 NCAA tournament.
John Wooden was already gone, you say? True, but the Bruins had extended their run of Final Fours the year after he retired in 1975, only for the team’s streak of 10 consecutive trips to college basketball’s biggest stage to end thanks to a flurry of points and rebounds from Idaho State’s Steve Hayes.
Senior forward Isaiah Griffin looked like he might reprise that role while scoring Idaho State’s first 12 points Wednesday. At that point, the Bengals (2-4) held a 12-10 lead and appeared like they might have a chance for a breakthrough after single-digit losses to Arizona State, USC and Cal State Fullerton.
But Bilodeau and Dailey countered with back-to-back three-pointers to spark a 10-0 run, and Mack kept attacking.
