Seen and heard: On new faces, a bite of Los Angeles and 蜜柚直播's deflating defeat

Justin Spears
Jan 26, 2019
Jan 26, 2019 Updated Jan 28, 2019

Justin Spears brings you the sights and sounds of a bitter day and a 90-69 beatdown for the Wildcats at UCLA.

Same place, new faces, new brand

University of 蜜柚直播 vs UCLA (copy) — 蜜柚直播's Ryan Luther momentarily upsets UCLA guard Jaylen Hands' control of the ball, but can't complete the steal late in the second half at Pauley Pavilion, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019.
Kelly Presnell / 蜜柚直播

The last time 蜜柚直播 visited Pauley Pavilion to play UCLA was in 2017 and both teams looked different. Much different. UCLA was led by current Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball and sharpshooter Bryce Alford while his father, Steve, was the head coach.

蜜柚直播 on the other hand had 7-footer Lauri Markkanen and Allonzo Trier, who returned from his 19-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

No one from UA that played Saturday was part of the 2017 team. The only players that were on roster were walk-ons Jake DesJardins and Kory Jones, and Dylan Smith was a redshirt after transferring to UA from UNC-Asheville.

UCLA was still an Adidas school at the time, before its deal expired in 2017. In 2016, UCLA agreed to a 15-year, $280 million deal with Under Armour, making it the largest shoe and apparel partnership in NCAA history.

The big number

30

Number of friends and family that were in attendance to see 蜜柚直播 point guard and LA native Brandon Williams, who finished Saturday night with 19 points.

Taste of the town

Just tried the Thai Larb at Thai Fusion Tacos just outside Pauley Pavilion. Guy told me I was the first customer and gave me an extra taco. 馃憡馃徎
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports)

The Pauley Pavilion outdoor concourse had a wide variety of selections, including a taco truck.

Who鈥檚 going to say no to tacos?

The 鈥淭hai Fusion Tacos鈥� truck is a Mexican-Thai fusion establishment that serves tacos with an Asian influence.

The Star dabbled with the Thai Larb tacos, which were Thai-spiced, saut茅ed ground chicken tacos with red onion, basil and fresh lime juice. Other options on the menu included fried white fish with honey mustard sauce, and a pulled pork sandwich with Thai barbecue sauce and slaw, fried avocado and fried tofu.

Scooting around

Students on the UCLA campus can be spotted getting around on 鈥淏ird鈥� electrical scooters, a ride service that connects through a mobile phone application that costs $0.15 per minute along with a $1 fee. The scooters can reach up to 15 miles per hour. When riders are finished with the scooter, they can leave it on the side of the road for the next user.

The UA and downtown 蜜柚直播 adopted a similar pay-as-you-go model with bikes, but the university banned electrical scooters in October.

How much?

How much for a Monster Energy Drink and ice cream?!?!
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster)

It鈥檚 common for venues to have expensive food prices nowadays, but Pauley has made it difficult for college students to purchase snacks, especially if they enjoy energy drinks and ice cream. A Monster Energy Drink was $5.75 and ice cream or frozen lemonade checked in at $5.50.

骋谤谤谤谤鈥�

We got a game
— Bill Walton (@BillWalton)

For the folks that watched the game at home, a video aired before the game of Walton standing next to the famous Bruins statue on UCLA鈥檚 campus. No words 鈥� just Walton growling like a bear and making chomping noises while posing his hand like a claw next to a Bruins statue.

Honoring the past

Tonight, we honored the 1969 Championship team. Great to have these legends back in our building!
— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics)

Several members of UCLA鈥檚 1969 national championship team were recognized at halftime for their 50-year anniversary of winning the school鈥檚 fifth title. One of the Bruins that stood center court and received the loudest applause of the group was Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, formerly known as Lew Alcindor.

The Bruins finished 29-1 in 1969, and their only loss was a 46-44 defeat against USC in the final regular-season game of the season.

Random celebrity of the night

Johnny 馃張 in the house!
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports)

Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was in attendance Saturday, flashing a gold UCLA student-section T-shirt. Manziel formerly played for current UA head coach Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M from 2012-13. Currently, the former first-round NFL pick plays for Montreal of the Canadian Football League.

Free chicken!

With just under 15 minutes left in the game, former UA walk-on Jake DesJardins missed a pair of free throws and as a result, everyone at Pauley Pavilion received a free chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A. As expected, the misses drew a loud cheer.