UCLA fails to finish against a quality opponent — again — in loss to Ohio State

ATLANTA —  Closing time continues to be the same story for UCLA.

The Bruins keep finishing off themselves.

Given another chance against a quality opponent in the final minutes Saturday afternoon, the Bruins fell short again.

Late defensive breakdowns and staggering offense plagued UCLA during a 67-60 loss to Ohio State at State Farm Arena in the CBS Sports Classic.

The Bruins (5-4) couldn’t get the needed stops in failing to notch what was their last chance at a quality win for NCAA tournament resume purposes before the start of Pac-12 play later this month.

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“We don’t have the will right now to close out games like this,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said, “especially outside of our building.”

Already without forward Berke Buyuktuncel (ankle), UCLA found itself doubly shorthanded with 1:54 left after guard Sebastian Mack drove toward the basket, was fouled and landed with a thud along the baseline, spraining his wrist as he tried to break his fall. Trainer Tyler Lesher and Cronin came over to check on Mack, who left the game.

Ohio State chose Adem Bona to shoot the free throws that Mack had been awarded and Bona made one of two, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead to 59-54.

Mack reentered the game and made a floating jumper to pull UCLA to within 59-56. The Bruins then played good defense until the final seconds of an Ohio State possession that ended with Jamison Battle burying a desperation three-pointer, the Buckeyes’ first make from that distance after they had missed their first 14 attempts.

“We should have stepped up and defended it better,” Cronin said.

Ohio State forward Zed Key, left, battles UCLA guard Lazar Stefanovic, center, and forward Adem Bona for the ball in the first half.

(Brynn Anderson / Associated Press)

Cronin charted seven missed layups for his team to go with its seven missed free throws, critical mistakes in a taut game. The Bruins’ defense gradually faded after a strong start, continuing a seasonlong trend that Cronin said he intended to rectify by deeping his rotation on a team featuring seven freshmen.

“Really, really good teams get better defensively in the second half; we get worse,” Cronin said after UCLA allowed Ohio State to shoot 55.6% after halftime. “The only way to solve that is to be deeper because nobody’s going to become a sophomore or a junior until next year, so you’ve got to lessen guys’ minutes so their fatigue lessens so we won’t break down at the end of the game.”

When a reporter asked Bona about Ohio State players saying they prepared for the Bruins’ physicality leading up to the game, Cronin unleashed a cackle and said, “I’m sorry, I needed a laugh.”

After adding little of value in the game’s early going, Bona finally made some moves midway through the second half. He took a lob from Dylan Andrews for a dunk and followed it with a driving layup and a jump hook to give the Bruins a 47-46 lead.

Mack led UCLA with 14 points while making just five of 16 shots. Andrews added 13 points and Bona had 12 for the Bruins, who made only one of nine three-pointers and shot 38.1% overall from the field.

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What took Bona so long to get going after he scored only one point and missed both of his shots in the first half?

“I’ve just got to get better shots, get to my spots where I know I can make shots,” Bona said. “No rushing, taking my time.”

Cronin said the game was lost in the first half when his team forced 10 Ohio State turnovers, held the Buckeyes (9-2) to 0 for 10 on three-pointers … and led by only one point.

“You’ve got to be up eight or 10 in that scenario,” Cronin said, “because you’re not going to shut them out forever.”

With only two games left before the start of conference play, Bona seemed to be tiring of the narrative that the Bruins were young and improving given they had lost three of four games, failing to be at their best when their best was needed.

“We’ve just got to do the tough stuff,” Bona said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re young or old, we’ve just got to get the job done. … We’re nowhere close to where we want to be.”