The Bruins saw their last game of 2010 end the way many have throughout the year.
The UCLA men’s basketball team tried to mount its second comeback in a row Friday at Pauley Pavilion but couldn’t get over the hump as it fell to Washington 74-63.
After letting the Huskies’ lead balloon to 17 points, the Bruins (9-5, 1-1 Pac-10) couldn’t cut the lead down to less than four in the second half. A layup from Joshua Smith with less than 5 minutes to play made the score 63-59, but the big freshman center soon fouled out after failing to properly hedge on a pick-and-roll, a running theme throughout the night.
Foul trouble plagued the Bruins as Smith, Tyler Honeycutt and Jerime Anderson each picked up two in the first half, forcing coach Ben Howland to once again actively rotate players. Non-scholarship junior guard Blake Arnet even made an appearance late in the first half for a UCLA team that is short on depth.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Huskies (10-3, 2-0). The senior forward consistently hurt the foul-troubled Bruins inside and helped give Washington a 42-26 advantage in points in the paint.
After splitting its first pair of conference games, UCLA gets a nine-day layoff before taking on USC at the Galen Center on Jan. 9.