Having only been a supporting player in his 1½ college seasons, Aday Mara came to the fore Tuesday night.
Massively.
The 7-foot-3 center left a giant mark on everything he could have been UCLAThe most important victory of the season.
Rebounding flat-footed, blocking shots and making every shot he took, Mara propelled the Bruins to a 85-83 win over No. 18 Wisconsin at Pauley Pavilion, ending the Badgers’ seven-game winning streak and announcing that the Bruins could face opponents of the size.
It took another big man from UCLA to finish the job.
Forward William Kyle III, inserted for defense when Wisconsin had a chance to tie the score or take the lead, did his job to perfection, blocking John Blackwell’s jumper with nine seconds left. UCLA’s Skyy Clark grabbed the rebound and was fouled, making both free throws after the second bounced around the rim and fell through the net.
Wisconsin guard John Tonje’s 3-pointer with seven-tenths of a second left added drama, but ultimately proved futile after Clark was fouled on the inbounds pass and made another free throw before intentionally missing the second so Wisconsin couldn’t. take a final shot. .
Mara was a force well beyond his career-high 22 points on 7-of-7 shooting, and his presence disrupted nearly everything Wisconsin wanted to do. He added four rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes, which became even more critical due to the absences of teammates Tyler Bilodeau and Kobe Johnson.
It wasn’t easy. After trailing by nine points with less than seven minutes left, Wisconsin (15-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) pulled within 81-80 with a minute left when Blackwell hit a 3-pointer.
Read more: Working while waiting for a bigger role, UCLA’s 7-foot-3 Aday Mara is no sleeping giant
As the shot clock was winding down, UCLA’s Sebastian Mack drove in and was fouled with 30 seconds left. He made just one of two free throws, giving the Badgers another chance.
Supplemented by a steady diet of Mack driving layups and floaters, the Bruins found an impressive formula. Mack added 19 points, including a series of late baskets to extend UCLA’s lead.
Things were leaning heavily in UCLA’s direction with 7:59 left when center Mara blocked Steven Crowl’s 3-pointer, leading to a Wisconsin shot clock violation. The Bruins soon held a 70-61 lead and all the momentum after Dylan Andrews made a baseline jumper.
Mara had been a revelation long before UCLA (13-6, 4-4) came up big early in the second half, pairing its tallest player with Bilodeau.
After Bilodeau made a spinning layup, Mara faked his defender out of the way for a dunk that had the fans roaring. After trailing by five points just minutes earlier, the Bruins were up by three after Mara took an inbound pass from Andrews for a layup.
A short chant of “Mara!” erupted when Mara followed another dunk with a blocked shot.
He was just getting started.
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.