LOS ANGELES — For a Penn State basketball team trying to break a five-game losing streak, it may not be the best time to head out on a road trip to the West Coast.
At least it wasn’t in the trip’s first game against UCLA on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Pauley Pavillion in Los Angeles.
Penn State was coming off a tough 69-61 loss to Minnesota at home four days before, and the team needed to get off to a good start against the Bruins.
It didn’t.
UCLA broke out to a 13-point first half lead, weathered a Penn State run in the second half and finally clinched a 78-54 victory over the Nittany Lions.
The Bruins put four players in double figures — Kobe Johnson, Skyy Clark, Sebastian Mack and Tyler Bildeau — shot just under 50% for the night and turned the ball over only four times in what was their 18th win of the season against six losses.
UCLA’s solid first half gave the team a 44-31 halftime lead, but Penn State made a run as the second half began.
After baskets by Zach Hicks, Ace Baldwin and Nick Kern, Penn State drew to within 5 points at one point.
But UCLA did not rattle and responded with a rally of its own. The Bruins shot back into a double-digit lead and at times coming down the stretch took leads of 20 and then 25 points.
Hicks took scoring honors for the Lions with 14, but he was the only player in double-figures. Baldwin and Kern both had 9, while D’Marco Dunn and Dominick Stewart each scored 7.
The loss for Penn State was the sixth in a row and it set the team’s record at 13-11 overall and 3-10 in the Big Ten.
In the Minnesota game at home on the 4th, Penn State took a 25-21 halftime lead but then saw the Gophers pour in 48 second-half points on the way to a 69-61 victory.
The two teams traded baskets to open the second half with Minnesota finally tying the game at 44-44 at the 10-minute mark after a 3-pointer by Mike Mitchell.
Kern put PSU back on top with two foul shots, but another three by Mitchell gave the Gophers a lead they would not give up.
Heading down into the final minutes with Minnesota ahead 63-52, a dunk by Freddie Dilione V pulled the Lions to within 7, 63-56, and then a 3-pointer by Dunn made it even closer at 65-59 with less than a minute to play.
Minnesota, though, was able to close out the game with four consecutive foul shots before Baldwin finished the scoring with a layup as time expired.
Penn State will now take on USC next before returning home to face Washington at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Feb. 15.
