Mick Cronin wasn’t going to let officials have the chance to eject center Steven Jamerson on Tuessday night.
Instead, he simply did it himself.
The UCLA head coach threw his own player out of their blowout 82-59 loss at No. 15 Michigan State on Tuesday after he had picked up a technical foul.
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With about four minutes to go at the Breslin Center, Jamerson came from behind and fouled Michigan State center Carson Cooper as he went up for a breakaway dunk. Jamerson got Cooper hard, too, and sent him down to the court awkwardly. Cooper jumped up immediately and squared up with Jamerson under the rim, though the two were separated without issue.
After seeing the incident with his team down by almost 30 points at the time, Cronin called Jamerson over to the bench, grabbed him by his jersey and started walking him off the floor while pointing to the locker room. Jamerson didn’t protest much, and just jogged to the tunnel.
Jamerson finished with two points and two rebounds in eight minutes. The senior has averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season.
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Both Jamerson and Cooper were assessed technical fouls for the play, and Cooper split his free throws for the original foul on the dunk attempt.That put Michigan State up by 28 at the time. From there, they simply held on to secure the 23-point win.
Jeremy Fears led Michigan State with 16 points and 10 assists in the win. The Spartans led nearly the entire way, and entered halftime with a 20-point lead despite not scoring in the final two minutes of the period. Coen Carr added 16 points, too, and Cooper finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. They shot 52% from the 3-point line, and out-rebounded UCLA by 10.
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The win came amid what’s been a rough stretch for Michigan State. The Spartans have lost three of their last five, including at unranked Minnesota and a 21-point loss at Wisconsin. They now sit at 21-5 on the season and third in the Big Ten race.
Tyler Bilodeau led UCLA with 22 points and six rebounds. Skyy Clark was the only other Bruins player to hit double figures with his 12 points off the bench. The loss dropped the Bruins to 17-9 this season as they try to hang on for an NCAA tournament bid. It marked their second straight blowout loss, too, after a 30-point loss at Michigan just days earlier.
Cronin is in his sixth season with the Bruins, who opened the season at No. 12 in the national rankings before falling out completely. He now holds a 155-73 record with the Bruins, who he led to a Final Four in his second campaign in Southern California.
The Bruins will host No. 10 Illinois next on Saturday. Jamerson’s status for that contest at Pauley Pavillion, after Tuesday’s incident in East Lansing, is unknown.
