Sebastian Mack makes his presence felt in UCLA’s win over Idaho State

In case anyone forgot him among all the newcomers dotting the UCLA roster, Sebastian Mack called him up with every foray to the basket Wednesday night.

He’s still there. Return it at your own risk.

On a night where the duo of Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr. continued to provide an assortment of offense for the Bruins, Mack was their leading scorer en route to an 84-70 victory over Idaho State at Pauley Pavilion .

Mack contributed 21 points off the bench with 15 free throws for the Bruins (4-1), who have won three straight games in convincing fashion since losing to New Mexico earlier this month.

Learn more:Pauley Pavilion Is Devoid of Confrontational Fans Amid UCLA’s Shift to Neutral-Site Games

Meanwhile, Bilodeau and Dailey continued to carry a group of starters that didn’t receive much offensive production from the guards. It was a similar story on Wednesday, with Kobe Johnson, Lazar Stefanovic and Skyy Clark combining for just 10 points.

Bilodeau single-handedly doubled that production with 20 points on eight-of-14 shooting, including four-of-four three-pointers for a team that made nine of 14 shots from beyond the arc. Dailey added 16 points while making seven of nine shots and seven rebounds.

Their effectiveness kept defenders from sagging to confront UCLA’s most prolific offensive weapon, which continually drove open lanes that invited a Mack attack. The Bengals continued to foul the second-year guard and send him to the free throw line, where he made 15 of 16 attempts.

Mack’s presence alone could be considered a win for the Bruins. He could have joined several teammates who left in the offseason amid the influx of six transfers. He held on, following his coach’s advice.

“The last thing you should do,” Mick Cronin said, repeating what he had told Mack. “You should stay here, let me coach you and get everything you need from you so you can become who you want to become. Choose hard. It works for people. Choose hard. Don’t take the easy way out.

Mack said he trusts his coach’s promise to make him a more complete player.

“I’m just able to guard, shoot, score every time I look at my teammates,” Mack said of the things he works on, “just everywhere, pretty much.”

Mack showed his unselfishness in the first half with a forward lob of William Kyle III for a thunderous dunk that got the crowd going.

After using a small lineup early in the season, Cronin said he would eventually like to play 6-foot-9 Kyle alongside 6-foot-9 Bilodeau and 6-foot-8 Dailey to combat bigger bodies that he expects to face. in the Big Ten.

“When these bigger teams come in,” Bilodeau said, “we’re definitely going to need size and strength. »

One possible problem is the lack of a reliable backup big man. Cronin wasn’t pleased with the performance of center Aday Mara, who had two turnovers in as many minutes Wednesday.

“Aday has to play better,” Cronin said, “so we have a replacement.”

Since infuriating their coach with his lack of toughness against New Mexico, the Bruins have pleased him by improving their competitiveness and defensive intensity.

Next on Cronin’s bucket list? Improve your rebounding, reduce turnovers and make shots.

There was progress Wednesday as the Bruins made 27 of 47 shots (a season-high 57.4%) and committed a reasonable 11 turnovers. But they gave up 10 offensive rebounds after closing down the basket in practice this week to emphasize boxing out.

UCLA also showed some defensive slip-ups, particularly in the final 10 minutes, after holding its previous three opponents to 50 points or fewer at home this season.

Idaho State may not have a lot of name recognition, but the Bengals have a proud history against UCLA. Some might say they ended the Bruins basketball dynasty with a 76-75 victory over a Marques Johnson-led team in the second round of the 1977 NCAA Tournament.

John Wooden had already left, you say? True, but the Bruins had extended their Final Four streak the year after his retirement in 1975, only to have the team’s streak of 10 consecutive trips to college basketball’s biggest stage ended thanks to a flurry of points and rebounds from Idaho State’s Steve Hayes.

Senior forward Isaiah Griffin looked like he could take over that role while scoring Idaho State’s first 12 points on Wednesday. At that point, the Bengals (2-4) held a 12-10 lead and appeared to have a chance to break through after single-digit losses to Arizona State, USC and Cal State Fullerton.

But Bilodeau and Dailey responded with consecutive three-pointers to spark a 10-0 run, and Mack continued to attack.

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This story was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.