No. 20 Maryland men’s basketball dominated by No. 16 UCLA, 87-60

Midway through the second half as the large crowd cleared the student sections, freshman Adem Bona threw down a ferocious dunk, posterizing a helpless Maryland defender in the process.

The dunk was indicative of the night UCLA had scoring the basketball and the onslaught it put on Maryland. The Bruins led by as much as 38 points, dominating around the basket and shooting three pointers at an efficient clip. 

The Bruins handed the Terps their third consecutive loss, as No. 20 Maryland men’s basketball was trampled by No. 16 UCLA in College Park, 87-60.

“It’s obviously a missed opportunity, but they’re a good basketball team,” coach Kevin Willard said. “We’re just right now just a little beat up and a little tired. They came in, they played well, they were aggressive.” 

Four Bruins reached double figures in the dominant win. Junior Jaylen Clark led all scorers with 19 points to go along with four out of UCLA’s 13 steals. The two-way guard was on fire from start to finish, pacing a potent Bruins’ attack. Senior David Singleton was another Bruin who contributed to the offensive drubbing. He finished with 18 of UCLA’s 27 bench points. He was efficient all night long shooting 7-10 from the field.

For Maryland, Ian Martinez led the scoring load, chipping in 16 points off the bench. Donta Scott was the only other Terp to reach double figures, contributing 12 points on 4-8 shooting from the floor. 

“When you step into the lines it’s a dog field, and in the dog field dogs battle,” Scott said. “So that’s what we’re gonna do. That’s what we are going to do once we step back into practice. We’re all brothers, at the end of the day we’re going to make each other better by any means necessary.”

Both sides found themselves in a defensive battle to start the game. Neither team scored through the first two-and-a-half minutes until Clark drove into the lane and finished a layup through contact to get the Bruins on the board. 

Maryland turned the ball over three times in the first two minutes and couldn’t get anything to go on the offensive end. The Bruins suddenly rattled off a 7-0 run with a couple of tough finishes at the rim, edging out an early advantage.

The Terps finally got their first shot to go when Martinez converted a three pointer to beat the buzzer with 15:06 to play in the first half. The crowd, dressed in all white, erupted following the Martinez basket, re-energizing the packed Xfinity Center.

Senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Clark were the main contributors for the Bruins as they scored two buckets in the lane in the span of 10 seconds, forcing  Willard to burn a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Terps turned the ball over yet again, leading to another Clark layup in transition.

“I see why firsthand why he’s going to be a first round pick,” Willard said. “He’s really smart and understands the game. I love his athleticism, he’s got a great motor, and again, he kind of knows who he is, which is really nice.”

The Bruins sparked a 17-2 run in part thanks to several turnovers by the Terps. Willard was forced to call another timeout, in an attempt to rally his troops. 

Scott took matters into his own hands by intercepting a pass and taking it coast-to-coast putting an end to the run. 

The Bruins drive-and-dish offensive attack put them up 21 points following a three by Singleton. He provided a spark off the bench early, notching 10 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting to start. 

Jaquez Jr. drained two free throws and quickly forced a steal on the other end leading to an and-one chance for Clark. The sequence was the highlight of a 13-0 run by UCLA and Clark eclipsed the 10-point mark with plenty of time left in the first half. 

After taking a hard fall, Clark earned a trip to the free throw line, sinking both. He ended the first half leading all scorers with 16 points and also added six rebounds.

Maryland turned the ball over 11 times through the first 20 minutes while UCLA only registered one. Coming into the game ranking third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, the Bruins tenacity on the defensive side stifled the Terps while setting up open shots on the other end.

“We take care of the ball, we got plenty of guys, talent is not an issue,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “All we got to do is come out and not turn it over. So for tonight our mind was on defense.”

Maryland trailed 49-20 at the half while shooting just 18% from the field. 

The Terps could not create their own shots and that trend continued in the second half. On the defensive end, the Terps lacked intensity and were getting gashed inside and out. A Singleton three put the Bruins up 35 points less than five minutes into the half. To make matters worse, Julian Reese missed the entire second half with a shoulder injury.

A trio of three pointers in a row by Martinez and Scott gave the Terps a much needed spark, but the game was already in UCLA’s favor. Up to that point Maryland shot 2-15 from three.

Martinez got hot midway through the second half, shooting a perfect 3-3 from three and was a lone bright spot off the bench for the Terps.

An abysmal start on the offensive end dug a hole the Terps were never able to climb out of, as the Bruins maintained defensive pressure from wire-to-wire in the dominating victory. Following an 8-0 start to the season, Maryland has dropped three in a row, coming back down to Earth, as it has struggled to find consistent outside shooting. 

Maryland will look to snap its three-game losing streak against Saint Peters Dec. 22 at the Xfinity Center.