Steve Alford: UCLA’s 83-50 win over WSU was best he’s seen

Steve Alford finally had something to smile about.

After watching his team lose three of its last four games, the UCLA head coach finally tinkered with his starting lineup. The result? An 83-50 win over Washington State, the Bruins’ largest margin of victory all season.

“Best 40 minutes we’ve had all year,” Alford said.

Stretch forward Jonah Bolden replaced senior big man Tony Parker to start the game, giving UCLA (13-9, 4-5) more flexibility on both offense and defense. Alford wouldn’t confirm that the change was permanent, but seemed disinclined to move back to the “big-big” lineup that the Bruins had used most of this year.

Instead of playing somewhat out of position at power forward, Parker moved to a backup center role behind sophomore Thomas Welsh. Welsh and Bolden essentially formed a first-string frontcourt platoon, while Parker played next to Gyorgy Goloman.

UCLA benches Tony Parker against WSU, starts Jonah Bolden

UCLA forward Jonah Bolden (left) will make his second start against Washington State, replacing senior big man Tony Parker. (Steve McCrank/Staff)

UCLA forward Jonah Bolden (left) will make his second start against Washington State, replacing senior big man Tony Parker. (Steve McCrank/Staff)

UCLA will start forward Jonah Bolden against Washington State this, shaking up the starting lineup in an attempt to fix the team’s defensive struggles.

The sophomore is making just his second start of the season, moving up over senior big man Tony Parker. After Thursday’s 86-84 loss to Washington, head coach Steve Alford said that the team’s “big-big” lineup of Parker and sophomore center Thomas Welsh was becoming too ineffective in getting stops.

“It’s not working,” he said. “We’re slow. We’re not reacting to things.”

After the game, Alford agreed that UCLA (12-9, 3-5) looked more effective when it paired Bolden, who is an inch taller than the 6-foot-9 Parker but 40 pounds lighter, with Welsh. The sophomore played 26 minutes against the Huskies and led the game with 11 rebounds, just the third time this season that he hit double digits in that category.

“We got to more balls,” Alford said. “We pursued things with more urgency. We were much more athletic. That’s something we’ve got to look at.”

Damian Alloway becomes latest four-star receiver to pick UCLA

Damian Alloway (right) is the latest four-star receiver to commit to the Bruins' 2016 class. The Summit High star had over 1,600 all-purpose yards as a senior. (John Valenzuela/Staff)

Damian Alloway (right) is the latest four-star receiver to commit to the Bruins’ 2016 class. The Summit High star had over 1,600 all-purpose yards as a senior. (John Valenzuela/Staff)

Four-star receiver Damian Alloway committed to UCLA on Friday morning, giving the Bruins another dynamic target in the class of 2016.

His decision, announced through a Bleacher Report video, moved UCLA’s recruiting class to No. 10 in the country, according to both Rivals and Scout. It also ranks first in the Pac-12, ahead of Stanford and Oregon.

The former Fontana (Calif.) Summit star is the second top-20 receiver to pick UCLA, according to Rivals rankings, joining Westlake product Theo Howard. Howards is rated No. 5 at his position and has already enrolled in school.

Alloway was named to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin All-Area team in each of the last two seasons, and recorded 1,655 all-purpose yards as a senior. His 55 catches turned into 23 touchdowns. He also led his team with six interceptions.

His commitment helps fill an area of need for UCLA, which is losing four of its top five pass-catchers in 2015. Those departures include senior Jordan Payton, the program’s career receptions leader, and Thomas Duarte, who led the team with 10 touchdown catches.

The Bruins also have commitments from Demetric Felton, whom Rivals ranks as the No. 23 athlete in the country, and top-40 receivers in Darian Owens and Dymond Lee.