UCLA Bruins

UCLA's Mora frustrated by those questioning late-game injury

Published Sep. 14, 2015 1:27 p.m. ET

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UCLA coach Jim Mora led his team to a convincing victory over UNLV on Saturday, but his coaching came into question after a late-game injury.

The Bruins were leading 37-3, but still ran their offense as the clock expired. Freshman offensive lineman Tevita Halalilo, in his NCAA debut, was carted off the field after an injury to his right leg. Mora described it as a "significant" ankle injury, according to the Los Angeles Times.

During his postgame interview, Mora was asked why he decided to run an offense rather than protect the health of his players.

UCLA Coach Jim Mora angry over questions about player's use late in game http://t.co/5xUsFxfoRf pic.twitter.com/l3bSMej0L2
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 13, 2015

“I can’t believe you’re being critical of it. If you’re being critical of it, you need to readjust your thinking," said Mora, in the report. “What do you want us to do, take a knee and not run plays? Get penalized?”

Before storming out of the conference, Mora also discussed Nick Pasquale, a UCLA player who passed away two years ago. Mora explained that Pasquale got to play his only game at UCLA one night before his tragic death.

“I learned a valuable lesson two years ago when Nick Pasquale died,” continued Mora. “The lesson is everybody deserves a chance to go out there and play. Nick’s dream was to play in a UCLA game."

(h/t Los Angeles Times)