UCLA Basketball: Bruins Starters Blame Absence Of Star Guard During End Of Villanova Loss

UCLA just couldn't get the job done down the stretch...

The UCLA Bruins season has gotten off to a little bit of a shaky start, but the team has continued to push through the adversity. Recently, they dropped a big game to Villanova by the score of 65-56, further showing that they haven't been able to get over the hump against the better teams. 

The Bruins actually led at halftime but couldn't withstand the push by the Wildcats at the end. It was a disappointing loss for this team, and they know that they let the game slip away from themselves.

But multiple players pointed to the absence of guard Dylan Andrews at the end of the game for the reason they fell short. Andrews is a massive part of the Bruins roster, so not having him hurt.

Forward Adem Bona gave his thoughts on not having Andrews down the stretch.

“Obviously, DA is a huge part of the team. We were missing him during a crucial part of the game. It unfortunately hurts the team. We got to keep playing as a team.”

Per Adem Bona via Uclabruins.com

Andrews finished the game with just eight points but was forced to miss the final part of the game with leg cramps. We won't ever know how he could have helped this team, but he would have given them another lethal scorer to go to. 

Guard Lazar Stefanovic also spoke about the absence of Andrews playing an impact on how the game turned out.

“He’s an important guy for us. He gets a lot going in our offense. He’s a quick guy. He’s a defender. He passes the ball pretty well. He’s a good scorer as well. It hurt us.”

Per Lazar Stefanovic via Uclabruins.com

UCLA is a very young team this season, so there will be growing pains. But all they can do now is move forward from this loss and learn from it to better prepare themselves for next time.

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