UCLA men’s basketball holds off Washington for 3rd straight win

SEATTLE — The UCLA men’s basketball team will take some momentum into its showdown with USC next week.

Aday Mara had another strong game, Dylan Andrews hit another clutch shot in the Pacific Northwest and the Bruins held off Washington, 65-60, on Friday night for their third straight win.

The Bruins (14-6 overall, 5-4 Big Ten), fresh off an 85-83 home win against No. 18 Wisconsin, climbed back above .500 in conference play heading into Monday night’s game at USC. Washington (10-10, 1-8) lost its sixth consecutive game.

Washington led by as many as seven points in the first half, but Kobe Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 7:31 left to pull UCLA even at 22-22 and Lazar Stefanovic stoke the ball from DJ Davis and dunked seconds later to give the Bruins the lead for good.

Mehki Mason hit his second 3-pointer of the second half to get Washington within four at 54-50 with 6:41 left and DJ Davis knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:39 left to make it a one-possession game at 58-55.

Mara, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots on a night when Tyler Bilodeau exited early with an ankle injury, made a jumper for a five-point lead with 1:11 remaining. Washington got a pair of offensive rebounds on its next trip down the floor and a putback from Zoom Diallo cut the margin to 60-57 with 41 seconds left.

That set the stage for Andrews, who banked in a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to give UCLA a 73-71 road win against then-No. 12 Oregon in early December. He came through again, burying a step-back 3-pointer for a 63-57 lead with 17 seconds left. Skyy Clark then stole the ball and made a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to help secure the win.

Clark finished with 12 points and six rebounds and shot 3 for 5 from 3-point range to go with three assists and two steals. Johnson had 11 points and nine rebounds, Eric Dailey Jr. had 11 points and five rebounds and Andrews finished with nine points (on 4-for-13 shooting) and three assists.

Bilodeau, the Bruins’ leading scorer with 14.6 points per game, came out of the game after playing just three minutes. He rolled his ankle while chasing a loose ball near midcourt early in the first half.

Great Osobor had 19 points and nine rebounds to pace the Huskies, who had no other players score in double figures.

Both teams struggled from the field, with the Bruins shooting 41.1% (23 for 56) and the Huskies making 41.5% (22 for 53). UCLA went 9 for 17 from 3-point range, while Washington was just 5 for 22.

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UCLA plays at rival USC on Monday at 7 p.m.