UCLA men can’t erase another poor 1st half in loss to Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — The UCLA men’s basketball team couldn’t dig itself out of another first-half hole.
Nolan Winter and Nick Boyd combined for 23 first-half points, and Wisconsin opened a 20-point lead midway through the first half on its way to handing UCLA an 80-72 defeat on Tuesday night.
Winter scored 12 points, and Boyd added 11 to help Wisconsin build a 45-31 halftime lead. The Badgers shot 54% overall in the first half, including an 8-for-16 showing from behind the arc.
In the second half, Winter’s two free throws stretched the Badgers’ lead to 56-39. UCLA answered with a 17-7 run, capped by a Trent Perry 3-pointer to cut its deficit to 63-56 with 8:41 left, but the Bruins didn’t get closer.
Eric Dailey Jr. scored 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting to lead UCLA (10-5 overall, 2-2 Big Ten), which has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Tyler Bilodeau scored 16 points despite foul trouble, and Perry added 15.
The Bruins, who were playing without guard Skyy Clark (hamstring injury), shot 46% from the field but missed 16 of their 17 3-point shots and went 15 for 23 at the free-throw line.
Boyd finished with 20 points and Winter scored 18, and the pair each grabbed eight of the Badgers’ 32 rebounds. John Blackwell added 17 points, and Andrew Rohde chipped in with 12 for Wisconsin (10-5, 2-2), which bounced back from an 89-73 loss at home on Saturday to fifth-ranked Purdue.
It was UCLA’s first game in Madison since Dec. 22, 1962.
UP NEXT
UCLA hosts Maryland on Saturday at 5 p.m.