UCLA Basketball: Lazar Stefanovic Weighs In On Sebastian Mack's Ejection

UCLA fought to the end.

The UCLA Bruins dropped a heartbreaking loss on Sunday against their Pac-12 foes, the Utah Utes. 

Unless these two teams meet in the Pac-12 tournament, this will be the last time they'll meet on the hardware for a long time. The Utes stuck a dagger in the Bruins' hearts in the game's final seconds to end their six-game winning streak. 

It was a tough pill to swallow, especially after losing their leading score, guard Sebastian Mack. Mack was ejected from the game on Sunday after he blatantly struck Utah center Braden Carlson in the face with his elbow/neck in the first half. 

That led to a flagrant two-foul, resulting in an ejection. After the tough loss, the media spoke to the game's leader scorer, Lazar Stefanovic. Stefanovic gave his thoughts on Mack's ejection and the team's mindset entering the game. 

“It was a physical game, it’s two physical teams. They beat us pretty badly the first time, so we came in, we knew we had to be tough. They outrebounded us, that was the biggest reason why we lost the first game, so we knew what we had to do. They are also a physical team, so it’s nothing crazy. It happens every game that teams are physical. I don’t know what happened to Sebastian, I didn’t see exactly what happened, but that’s what happens sometimes with physical teams.”

-

Lazar Stefanovic via UCLA Athletics

Stefanovic was the game's leading score with 19 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the field. He is not advocating Mack's actions, but at the same time, he's backing up his teammate. Mack is not a dirty player; however, the Bruins got embarrassed in their last matchup against Utah. 

That left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, including Mack's, and he retaliated horribly. Many college basketball fans were outraged by his actions, but hopefully, nothing outside of the ejection happens to Mack. 

The Bruins have five games left on their schedule, including their upcoming game against their rivals, the USC Trojans, at Pauley Pavilion. Let's hope Mck is suited up and ready to go for it.