Adem Bona scores 22 to help UCLA win 9th straight against Washington, 73-61
UCLA forward Kenneth Nwuba, right, dunks as Washington guard Sahvir Wheeler defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Mark J. Terrill
LOS ANGELES — Adem Bona scored 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting, Lazar Stefanovic added 15 points and seven rebounds and UCLA beat Washington 73-61 Sunday for its ninth win in a row against the Huskies.
UCLA (7-10, 2-4) snapped a four-game skid and won for just the second time in 10 games.
Berke Buyuktuncel hit a 3-pointer to spark an 11-0 run and Bona followed with a jumper that gave UCLA the lead for good with 13:44 left in the first half. Andrews made two free throws, Bona threw down a dunk and Ilane Buyuktuncel scored inside to cap the spurt and make it 14-7 with 11:31 left in the first half.
Sahvir Wheeler sandwiched two layups around another dunk by Bona before Jan Vide hit a 3, Kenneth Nwuba followed with a dunk and Stefanovic added another 3-pointer to stretch UCLA's lead to 13 points about five minutes later.
Moses Wood hit a 3-pointer and then made two free throws before Keion Brooks Jr. added a pair of free throws to cut Washington's deficit to 39-24 with 16 minutes to play. Will McClendon answered with a 3 and Bona scored in the paint before his dunk pushed the lead back into double figures less than a minutes later and the Huskies got no closer.
Wheeler led Washington (10-7, 2-4 Pac-12) with a career-high tying 27 points, Brooks added 12 and Wood 10. The Huskies, who had won back-to-back games, have lost four of their last six games.
Sebastian Mack, who picked up two personal fouls in the game's first 2 1/2 minutes, scored all of his 10 points in the second half for UCLA. Dylan Andrews had just seven points on 1-of-6 shooting, 0 for 4 from 3-point range, but had a career-high eight assists.
UCLA forward Berke Buyuktuncel, left, falls while being guarded by Washington guard Anthony Holland during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Mark J. Terrill
The Bruins forced 19 Washington turnovers and outscored the Huskies 26-11 in points off turnovers. UCLA made 25 of 50 from the field and improved to 3-0 this season when shooting at least 50%.
Washington plays the second of three straight road games Thursday at California. UCLA kicks off a three-game road trip at Arizona State on Wednesday.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here
