This post was updated Jan. 24 at 11:25 p.m.
Garbage time is frequently defined as when a team is leading by double digits with only a couple minutes left in the game.
The winning team dials back the intensity with a win in the bag, giving the losing team an opportunity to go on a run and cut into the final deficit.
On Thursday, garbage time came at the beginning instead of the end.
UCLA men’s basketball (10-9, 3-3 Pac-12) started the game on an 11-0 run, but Arizona State (14-5, 5-2) spent the first half climbing back and the second half pulling away for an 84-73 road victory.
“There’s no secret formulas here,” interim coach Murry Bartow said. “If we make free throws, if we don’t turn it over, if we make open 3s – and I thought we probably missed 15 to 20 shots within four feet of the rim. The officials obviously were letting it go on both ends, but it was physical on both ends. To be honest, we worked all week on finishing against contact and we did miss a lot of shots around the rim.”
The most fight the Bruins showed was during extracurriculars.
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes picked up a flagrant foul in the first half when he swung his elbow and hit Arizona State forward Taeshon Cherry in the face. Wilkes also earned a technical foul after scuffling with Sun Devil guard Luguentz Dort following a dunk.
UCLA’s full-court press and 2-3 zone defense couldn’t withstand constant pressure from the visitors.
Arizona State pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the second half. The Sun Devils went on separate 7-1 and 8-1 runs to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a double-digit lead.
“We were in this situation at USC and at Oregon State – end the game at half and then they come out with a big run five, six minutes into the second half,” said sophomore guard Jaylen Hands. “ It wasn’t like we weren’t aware (of it). … We just have to be more dialed in, more focused, that’s all I have to say.”
Guard Remy Martin recorded a double-double with 15 points – 13 in the second half – and 11 assists.
UCLA struggled from the field in the second half, shooting only 32.3 percent. It was the second straight game in which the Bruins shot under 40 percent from the floor in the second half to lose by double digits.
“We had a lot of opportunities to hit shots and we just didn’t take them,” Wilkes said. “I had a few opportunities that I should’ve hit and then I didn’t hit. As a team, it just trickles down and everybody’s missing a lot of shots, missing free throws. You have to hit those shots to win the game.”
Bartow’s squad also had three turnovers on possessions immediately following a timeout and finished with 15 giveaways.
Wilkes and Hands finished with 15 points apiece to lead UCLA, but no other players scored in double figures.
The Bruins shot 36 percent on 3-pointers and 47.6 percent on free throws. The last time they made 40 percent of their 3-pointers in a game was in November, and they’ve made less than half of their free throws in three consecutive games.
“I thought the second half, too many turnovers hurt us, lack of play on the glass hurt us,” Bartow said. “Obviously free throw shooting, we’re (10-of-21), that hurt us and then I thought we had multiple really good looks from our best players. It just didn’t go in.”