Facing an overmatched opponent that allowed him to freely tinker with his lineups, Mick Cronin tried plenty of mixing and matching Tuesday afternoon.
The UCLA coach apparently liked what he found in reserves Trent Perry, Jamar Brown and Brandon Williams.
Perry was a playmaking force with his scoring and smart passes. Brown did a little bit of everything in an energetic fashion. Williams showed plenty of toughness as the second big man in small lineups also featuring Tyler Bilodeau.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway was that the Bruins might have found that a three-guard lineup is the way to go after the continued struggles of centers Xavier Booker and Steven Jamerson II.
Bilodeau was the offensive juggernaut during the Bruins’ 97-65 victory over UC Riverside at Pauley Pavilion while receiving plenty of support from a different surrounding cast.
Scoring in a variety of ways against a defense that provided little resistance, Bilodeau finished with a career-high 34 points while making 12 of 19 shots to go with six rebounds. Guard Skyy Clark added 14 points to help UCLA (10-3) post its third consecutive victory going into an extended winter break.
But there were several revelations off the bench. Perry might have been the biggest, running the offense at a high level while finishing with 14 points and seven assists in 24 minutes. Perry played some alongside starting point guard Donovan Dent (seven points and three assists in 19 minutes) in the second half.
Brown contributed across the board, tallying four points, seven rebounds and four steals in 24 minutes. Williams’ biggest factor was his defense during a performance in which he had three points, one rebound and one steal in 18 minutes.
It was a second consecutive subpar showing for Booker, who finished with six points and one rebound in 13 minutes after being limited to three minutes against Cal Poly last week because of matchups. Jamerson played only seven choppy minutes, once being yanked after an 11-second stint because of an inability to keep the Highlanders from reaching the rim with ease.
UC Riverside repeatedly made the mistake of leaving Bilodeau open in the first half and the forward made the Highlanders regret their decision by making five of nine shots on the way to 13 points.
Forward Osiris Grady finished with 20 points for the Highlanders (6-8), who shot 42.6% to the Bruins’ 50%.
The post Mick Cronin tinkers with lineup during UCLA’s rout of UC Riverside appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
