UCLA rides 20-2 outburst to pull-away win over Maryland
UCLA went on a 20-2 run to close the first half then held off a rally by visiting Maryland in the second en route to a 67-55 win on Saturday in Los Angeles.
The Bruins (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) moved to 10-0 at home in Pauley Pavilion this season and pulled out of a two-game losing slump in the process, overwhelming the Terrapins with the critical run to close the first half.
The 20-2 burst, which spanned almost nine minutes, flipped a 19-18 Maryland lead into an advantage UCLA held the rest of the game.
The Terps (7-9, 0-5) chipped away at the deficit, however, pulling to within five points on the strength of a 10-2 run. George Turkson Jr. and David Coit both converted successful and-one plays during the Maryland spurt.
Trent Perry helped put an end to the threat when he connected on a 3-pointer, part of his team-high 16 points, that ignited a game-ending, 11-4 response from the Bruins. Perry shot 5 of 10 from the floor, including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc, and grabbed six rebounds.
Eric Dailey Jr. added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds for UCLA, while Tyler Bilodeau scored six of his 10 points at the free-throw line on a night his own foul trouble limited the Bruins' season-long leading scorer to just 21 minutes.
Bilodeau's prolonged absence contributed to UCLA giving up 48 rebounds while coming up with only 29 boards. Terps Elijah Saunders and Solomon Washington each grabbed 12 rebounds, and Saunders scored a game-high 17 points.
With 20 of its 48 rebounds coming on the offensive end, Maryland cashed in 24 second-chance points. The Terps otherwise struggled offensively, going just 20 of 66 from the floor and committing 13 turnovers -- more than double UCLA's six turnovers.
The Bruins scored 16 points off the takeaways, which included two steals each from Perry and Donovan Dent. Dent scored eight points and dished seven assists in the win.