As Trent Perry made his first collegiate start, he stepped into a familiar role.
The UCLA sophomore always plays point guard in practice, going head to head against star counterpart Donovan Dent. Whenever they play together in games, Perry has to shift his approach, becoming more aggressive in trying to grab rebounds.
But with Dent sidelined as a precaution because of a muscle strain Monday night at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins needed Perry to assume the role of lead facilitator.
Finding out that he was going to start only shortly before tipoff, Perry received encouragement from his sidelined teammate.
“He really just said, ‘Keep going,’” Perry said of Dent. “Just kept giving me confidence throughout the entire game. You know, keep going right now, you’re the engine and just keep your team moving. Just be a leader.”
Perry eagerly complied, leading the No. 15 Bruins to an 83-62 victory over West Georgia that was far closer than the score indicated. The Wolves used a bombs-away approach that yielded a flurry of three-pointers and kept the game competitive for 25 minutes before Perry helped UCLA avoid embarrassment on its home court.
Making most of the highlight passes, including one in which he barreled into the paint before flinging the ball to teammate Eric Dailey Jr. in the corner for a three-pointer, Perry logged career highs across the board with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds along with only two turnovers in 37 minutes.
It was a performance that pleased coach Mick Cronin, who said he was primarily concerned with Perry’s defense and ability to take care of the ball while finding his teammates.
“Off certain plays that we ran, he read the defense, did a good job with that,” Cronin said. “That’s what you’ve to do as a quarterback — calling the plays, if the quarterback can’t deliver the ball, you’re a pretty limited coach.”
With UCLA holding just a five-point lead against an opponent in only its second season in Division I, Perry ignited his team’s 10-0 push early in the second half that provided breathing room with an assist and a layup in transition. Eventually the Bruins (3-0) found themselves ahead by 20 points, leaving West Georgia (1-2) with no way to catch them even on a night when the Wolves made 13 of 25 three-pointers (52%).
UCLA also persevered thanks to forward Tyler Bilodeau’s 21 points on seven-for-12 shooting and Dailey’s 14 points. The Bruins were far more efficient on offense in the second half, making 14 of 25 shots (56%) to finish the game shooting 49.1%.
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau, left, tries to drive past West Georgia forward Kenneth Chime during the first half Monday.
(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)
But the outcome wasn’t a foregone conclusion until there were about 10 minutes left thanks to West Georgia’s success from beyond the arc. The Wolves made nine of 13 three-pointers in the first half before cooling off considerably.
“We were losing shooters,” said Perry, who was pump-faked out of the way on one three-pointer in the game’s early going. “Our deflection [total] was really low. Coach said comfortable teams make comfortable players. And they were pretty comfortable in our home gym, especially in the first half.”
Cronin said he was grateful that his team was challenged by a third consecutive lesser-conference opponent after struggling to put away Eastern Washington and Pepperdine.
“It was great that they made us compete tonight — we do not need a false sense of security,” Cronin said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, so the worst thing you can have is [an opponent] that just lays down, doesn’t pass the ball, can’t make a shot, you’re running and dunking, the crowd’s going wild. It’s such a false sense of security for what we’ve got coming Friday.”
Cronin was alluding to an early season showdown against No. 5 Arizona at the Intuit Dome.
UCLA will need not just Dent back but also the defensive intensity that has made Cronin’s teams far more formidable than they looked for much of Monday night. Dent likely will play against the Wildcats, Cronin said.
“He’s banged up, got a couple of different areas he’s banged up,” Cronin said. “It was a great chance to get him some rest.”
And, in the process, learn that the Bruins have someone else capable of running their offense.
