The group couldn’t imagine what it had simply witnessed.
Donovan Dent’s crossover transfer left a helpless defender watching from behind as he accelerated towards the basket, followers unleashing audible admiration even earlier than the UCLA level guard accomplished the play with a driving layup.
Poor Noah Meeusen and everybody else who tried to cease Dent.
They have been overmatched by the ending skill and fearlessness of a participant who had not proven a lot of both over the season’s first month, hardly resembling the star the Bruins thought they have been getting.
On a revelation of a Wednesday night time inside Pauley Pavilion, Dent lastly seemed like somebody who may carry a crew.
He did precisely that, the switch from New Mexico serving to the Bruins fend off Arizona State throughout a 90-77 victory that had his handprints throughout it.
There have been blow-by layups, floaters, a uncommon three-pointer and an old style three-point play on a jumper he threw up whereas getting fouled and falling down alongside the baseline. Dent unveiled a full array of strikes on the way in which to scoring 20 factors whereas making 9 of 17 pictures.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin mentioned he sensed Dent might need a giant sport given the Solar Devils’ up-and-down type was one which performed to his strengths. Dent mentioned a confidence enhance got here from coaches and teammates reminding him of his skills.
“All of them simply sort of advised me, like, be your self,” Dent mentioned. “Like, we all know who you might be, you got here right here for a cause, like, simply be you. After which, that’s all you need to hear out of your teammates while you’re going by a droop, like, them simply completely, completely being proper there for you.”
Dent’s understudy additionally got here up big. After the Solar Devils made issues uncomfortably shut halfway by the second half, pulling to inside 5 factors, UCLA reserve guard Trent Perry made positive they might get no nearer.
Perry rose for a three-pointer that pushed the lead again to eight factors. After teammate Brandon Williams made an energizing block on the rim, triggering a quick break, Perry discovered Skyy Clark for a three-pointer that prolonged the Bruins’ benefit to double digits.
Clark completed with 18 factors on the energy of six three-pointers and Tyler Bilodeau added 18 factors to assist UCLA (8-3) bounce again from its loss to Gonzaga by holding off an previous Pac-12 rival. Guard Anthony Johnson led Arizona State (9-3) with 20 factors on an evening the Solar Devils stored issues shut by making 25 of 26 free throws.
Clark is now making 51.9% of his three-pointers this season, not far behind Liberty’s Brett Decker Jr., who entered Wednesday because the nationwide chief by making 55.3% of his pictures from lengthy vary. Irritated by Clark giving up one early shot in order that he may move to Dent, Cronin requested everybody within the locker room at halftime in the event that they needed Clark to move up open pictures.
“All of them screamed, ‘No!’ at him,” Cronin mentioned. “You realize, he’s an important child, he’s unselfish, however we’ve obtained to proceed to discover a option to proceed to ensure we get him pictures.”
One other annoyance for Cronin was his crew giving up 36 factors within the paint together with all these free throws, a method which may have spelled catastrophe had the Bruins not put up so many factors themselves. Cronin mentioned he would possibly go together with extra three-guard lineups to optimize the crew’s expertise given what Perry and Jamar Brown (9 factors) have added off the bench.
Dent’s closing spotlight got here on a move in transition to an open Clark, who rose for a three-pointer that gave UCLA a 12-point lead. In maybe the one blemish on his night time, Dent logged simply 4 assists to go along with his 4 turnovers.
It was an ensemble efficiency for the Bruins. Cronin inserted backup heart Steven Jamerson II into his lineup to start out the second half and Jamerson rapidly rewarded him by chasing down an offensive rebound within the nook and including two putback dunks earlier than stepping into foul hassle.
However the huge story was one in every of redemption.
It picked up momentum late within the first half when Dent rose with out hesitation for a three-pointer. It was solely Dent’s second made three-pointer of the season and his first because the season opener after a string of 12 consecutive misses dropped his accuracy from past the arc to 7.7%.
That was a surprising dropoff for somebody who had made 40.9% of his three-pointers final season at New Mexico. Dent completed the sport making one in every of three pictures from lengthy vary, his accuracy inching as much as 12.5% on the season.
What was maybe most pleasing about Dent’s efficiency was his heightened confidence stage. He repeatedly beat his defender for driving layups, his aggressiveness an equal asset to his velocity in rolling up 13 factors on six-for-eight capturing by the sport’s midpoint.
There was extra to come back for somebody who mentioned watching movie of previous highlights helped generate new ones.
“While you’re going by stuff like that,” Dent mentioned of his struggles, “you sort of need to see what you might do, once more, watching previous highlights, previous clips. They remind you what you are able to do and who you might be.”
He’s Donovan Dent, and nobody on Arizona State’s roster is more likely to overlook any time quickly.
