LOS ANGELES — It’s rarely smooth in the Big Ten. UCLA head coach Mick Cronin understands that, despite roughly 18 months in the conference. So while he wasn’t pleased with the Bruins’ defense, Tyler Bilodeau’s mindless fouls, and, most of all, the officiating in Saturday night’s game, he leveled with himself.

“I’m happy with the win,” he said. “In this league, you just got to win and get on to the next one.”

Every point in that column counts the same regardless of the path there. UCLA grinded out a 77-73 victory against Washington to earn its fifth win in six games.

Trent Perry led UCLA (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) with 23 points and hit four free throws in the final minute as Washington (12-12, 4-9 Big Ten) mounted a comeback. Donovan Dent played all 40 minutes, scoring 17 points and dishing 10 assists for his sixth double-double of the season. Tyler Bilodeau added 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Eric Dailey Jr. had nine of his 14 points in the second half.

Cronin praised the Bruins’ offensive output and perseverance through fatigue. But he’s nothing if not honest.

“We are going nowhere if we don’t become a better defensive team,” he said.

UCLA fell behind early as Wesley Yates, who led Washington with 21 points, punished slow closeouts, scoring 12 of the Huskies’ first 14 points. The USC transfer quickly reminded his former crosstown foes of his capabilities, helping Washington build an eight-point lead.

The Bruins surged back. After four consecutive stops, Dent found Perry for a transition 3-pointer to put UCLA ahead briefly. Washington countered with a zone defense, containing UCLA’s offense, and built a four-point lead at the break.

The Bruins shot just 34.5% from the field in the first half. Their ball movement was stagnant. Bilodeau, the leading scorer, had only attempted four shots.

That changed quickly. UCLA ran a pick-and-pop on the opening possession of the second half, and Dent found Bilodeau for a left-wing 3. He banged another one from the corner. and hit a turnaround jump shot with Hannes Steinbach’s hand in his face.

“At halftime, I see he’s got four shots,” Cronin said. “To me, coaching’s not that hard. Make sure your best players take the most shots.”

UCLA went on a 14-4 run as Bilodeau scored 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. But in the span of 2:30, he committed a pair of unnecessary off-ball fouls, increasing his tally to four, forcing Cronin to take him out.

“He fouled a guy that hasn’t scored for them in like five games before he even had the ball fighting around the post,” Cronin said.

Cronin chided Bilodeau for those senseless fouls, but directed his frustration at the officials for the next few calls. After Lathan Sommerville drew consecutive trips to the line, and no whistle blew when Dent was contacted on a drive, Cronin ran onto the court, throwing his fists in anger, and yelling at an official.

“In the moment, I was like, ‘Coach, we don’t need that,’” Perry said. “He was like, ‘I did that on purpose.’”

The scorebook read: Technical foul. It might as well have been intentional.

“When your coach is fired up, it gets you fired up,” Dent said. “It just gives you juice.”

The Bruins fed off Cronin’s energy. Dent picked Quimari Peterson’s pocket and found Perry for a 3-pointer.

After another 3 from Perry, Washington surged back. Sommerville made a hook shot, and Yates scooped a layup, cutting the margin to two.

Cronin took a risk, re-inserting Bilodeau with 5:39 to go. He immediately scooted past Steinbach for a 3-point play. Dailey made another jumper. Dent glided for a layup to put UCLA up nine with 1:37 left.

The Huskies weren’t done. Peterson and Yates combined for 10 quick points, but the Bruins made their last six free throws to seal the game.

UCLA staved off Washington with poise. The Bruins survived despite Bilodeau’s disrupted rotations. But the film will be used to criticize Bilodeau’s lapses and the Bruins’ defense as Saturday was less a foundational victory than avoiding defeat during what Cronin refers to as the “dog days” of conference play.