UCLA Basketball: Bruins Reserves Provide Big Boost In Win Vs Stanford

Thanks to a well-balanced team effort, your UCLA Bruins men's basketball squad notched a season-high in securing an 82-74 road win against the Stanford Cardinal on Wednesday night. UCLA improved to a 12-11 record, and has now won four of its last five bouts.

Surprisingly, the defensive late-game play of Bruins reserve centers Aday Mara and Kenneth Nwuba proved critical in the matchup.

After the victory, head coach Mick Cronin and redshirt sophomore reserve guard Will McClendon, who scored 13 points off the bench, praised the dynamic duo's big minutes off the bench, per UCLA Communications.

“Yeah, again, you know you have to get contributions from guys, I’m happy for those guys because they put a lot of time in, and practice, just as much as the guys that play more minutes," Cronin said. "So you know, alert and aware is what we try to talk about on defense, especially when you're playing a team that's so tricky on offense. You have to be alert and aware and try to make get your hand on the ball, because they can confuse you pretty easily."

Nwuba's biggest moment happened with 1:55 remaining in regulation. The 6'10" big man picked off the ball from junior UCLA forward Maxime Raynaud. At the time, Nwuba was up by just two possessions, 72-67.

"Kenny was really alert and aware on that play, got his hand in, he not only deflected it, he recovered it as well. We've been working with Aday, working with his shooting, getting more arc on the ball.”

Mara, for his part, showed off his insane mobility in blanketing seemingly every inch of the floor to seal his man.