January 21 was not Wisconsin Badgers’ day but it was of Sebastian Mack’s as the sophomore UCLA Bruins helped his team end their visitors’ seven-game winning streak.
Mack, who scored just seven points in his team’s win over Iowa, scored 19 points in the victory, seven of them in the last four minutes and 21 seconds when the Badgers were attempting to take over.
Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, who’s grown into a full born scorer this season, has nothing but praises for the 6’3 guard.
“He’s just a good player. He’s a hooper,” Blackwell said.
“He’s physical and he knows how to do it while drawing fouls. A guy like that is a hard guard and you’ve just got to keep him in front and show your hands.”
Mack’s timely shots left Badgers feeling exhausted as they were already dealing with Aday Mara who he himself had a field day for the Bruins.
Mara scored 22 points, which is way beyond his 4-point average per outing.
Bruins’ starting 5 also delivered for them, led by Tyler Bilodeau who kicked off their run early in the second half, finishing with 16 points.
John Blackwell on Wisconsin Badgers’ botched game winning shot
It’s not like everything was going Bruins’ way in the game. In fact, coach Greg Gard’s squad almost stole the game in the dying seconds.
If only Blackwell made the right decision.
With 30 seconds remaining and Bruins leading 82-80, Badgers advanced the ball looking for a quality shot. However, he took a mid-range jumper that only got blocked. He was forced to foul Skyy Clark who converted both.
Gard said it was not the kind of shot they were looking for.
Blackwell is now aware and he is taking responsibility.
“I just saw they were all jammed up, Kles (Max Klesmit) was all jammed up,” Blackwell said. “I took it upon myself. I want to shoot that last shot and and I know how to take the blame if I don’t make that last shot. I know the guys trust me to take that last shot.”
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