It was a good day to be a Reynolds.
Junior center Lucas Reynolds led UCLA men’s water polo in scoring, with three goals Sunday. Sophomore attacker Paul Reynolds scored twice in the third period, to tie for second-highest number of goals scored in the game.
The efforts of the two Reynolds, who are not related, along with the rest of the team, resulted in UCLA toppling No. 11 UC San Diego 13-6 Sunday, the first time No. 2 UCLA had played at home in exactly a month.
“It’s nice to play at home. We’ve been on the road for a while,” Lucas Reynolds said.
The victory had value for UCLA in more ways than one.
While it has significant implications for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship seeding, it also provides emotional reinforcement for the players and coaches.
Following a one-point loss to UC Santa Barbara several weeks ago, the team avenged that loss with a win against UCSB on Saturday.
“There’s something to say when you lose to a team. … There’s some thoughts that go through the players’ minds,” said coach Adam Wright. The Bruins are now riding a five-game winning streak.
The weekend’s victories didn’t road, however. While the Bruins pulled ahead 7-3 by the end of the half on Sunday, it was clear that there were moments of frustration.
“There was some stuff early on in our zone attack that we weren’t doing the right things,” Wright said.
In the fourth period, they allowed three goals, as many as the Tritons had scored the rest of the game combined.
The main problem, as Wright saw it, was in the team’s slow-moving transition game.
“We must always continue to get better in our transition game. … One thing we have is speed, and we have to start using it,” the coach said.
While the Bruins struggled in some areas, they showed their defensive strength, specifically on the power play holding the Tritons to one of 10 conversions.
“Overall, I’m proud of the whole group, but our five-on-six defense was great,” Wright said.
Paul Reynolds said that, although they have their good and bad moments, he thinks the team has the ability to balance those out.
“We have flashes of when we’re really good and flashes when no one’s talking and we kind of go in a dark hole,” Reynolds said. “As long as we can maintain ourselves from getting in that hole, we’ll be solid for the season.”
Email Elder at jelder@media.ucla.edu.