LINCOLN, Neb. — With its best all-around player out and its point guard falling into a deeper funk, UCLA needed some step-up performances to beat Nebraska.
What did the Bruins get?
Sebastian Mack made three of 11 shots and committed four turnovers before fouling out.
Kobe Johnson and Lazar Stefanovic combined to make six of 18 shots.
The entire team made four of 28 three-pointers.
It was no wonder, then, that No. 15 UCLA faltered toward the end of a 66-58 loss to Nebraska on Saturday given it played the entire game without forward Eric Dailey Jr. and might as well have been without point guard Dylan Andrews given his continued struggles.
At one point midway through the second half inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, having reentered the game while scoreless with three turnovers, Andrews almost immediately threw a pass out of bounds and got yanked again.
It wasn’t what the Bruins needed considering they were already missing Dailey, who was sidelined by lingering issues from the shot to the face he absorbed two weeks ago during a game against North Carolina.
Andrews went on to finish with two points and four turnovers in only 19 minutes, his final indignity coming when he had a shot swatted on a drive to the basket in the final minute.
The sold-out crowd delighted in every UCLA miscue while giving the Bruins (11-3 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) perhaps their first true taste of life on the road in the Big Ten after they won at a half-empty Matthew Knight Arena last month.
After pulling to within 61-58 with 24 seconds left and causing some audible unease in the crowd, UCLA’s comeback hopes were crushed when Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg made two free throws and Andrews had his shot rejected.
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau’s 15 points weren’t nearly enough given the Bruins shot 38.6% from the field and were especially cold from long range.
Guard Brice Williams scored 16 points to help the Cornhuskers (12-2, 2-1) notch their 20th consecutive home victory, tying the school record they had established twice previously.
Starting in place of Dailey, who had scored 18 points last weekend against Gonzaga but apparently suffered a setback this week, Mack was on the attack as usual but did not provide enough of a lift with his nine points offset somewhat by his sloppiness with the ball. Stefanovic added 10 points off the bench and Skyy Clark had nine for the Bruins.
A corner three-pointer from Hoiberg, the son of Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, sparked an 8-0 run for the Cornhuskers that pushed them into a 50-38 lead and essentially doomed the Bruins.
Saying it was a game of runs might have been an understatement.
UCLA scored the first seven points, keeping Nebraska fans standing until Williams’ three-pointer with 15:38 left in the first half finally let them take a seat as part of a ritual. They were back on their feet soon after as the Cornhuskers rolled off a 15-0 run fueled in part by six Bruins turnovers.
Not to be outdone, UCLA countered with its own 15-0 run sparked by forward Bilodeau’s three-pointer. The Bruins would have extended their surge had Andrews made a three-pointer in transition that rattled out. Andrews’ recent slump deepened in the first half as he missed all four shots and committed two turnovers.
Nebraska then rolled off a 9-0 run before Johnson zipped a pass underneath the basket to Clark for a backdoor layup that tied the score at 24-24 going into halftime.
The Bruins played a second consecutive game without forward William Kyle III, who recently underwent an undisclosed medical procedure. Kyle could return as soon as the Bruins’ game against Michigan on Tuesday.
