LOS ANGELES — Okay, we’ve seen enough, bring on fourth-ranked Villanova.
The UCLA men’s basketball team has made things look too easy in the past week. Albeit one act was an exhibition against NCAA Division II Chico State, but Tuesday night’s 95-58 season-opening dismantling of Cal State Bakersfield actually counted, and maybe more importantly, showed the Bruins are ready for a real test.
Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard each scored 19 points, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 as the second-ranked Bruins led wire to wire at Pauley Pavilion. Tyger Campbell and Jaylen Clark each scored 10 points for UCLA (1-0).
It didn’t take long for the arena’s public address announcer to begin promoting Friday’s nationally televised showdown against Villanova. The Bruins led 75-39 with 9:16 left and the “#2 UCLA vs. #4 Villanova” graphic was being displayed on the jumbotron encouraging fans to buy their tickets.
The margin was never less than 28 points for the rest of the game.
UCLA scored 47 points in the first half, but it was the defense that put things away early. The Bruins (1-0) were up 18-11 at the 10:25 mark in the first half before going on a 26-7 run to finish the half. UCLA held Bakersfield to 26% shooting and just three made field goals over the last 10:02 of the opening frame. The Roadrunners were 3 for 17 during that stretch.
While the Roadrunners were missing, UCLA was converting. The Bruins made eight of their last 15 shots to end the half, including a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer from Jaquez to make it 47-19 at halftime.
The Bruins started the second half 5 for 6 from the floor, including two 3-pointers from Bernard and Juzang. The margin grew to 32 points (60-28) with more than 15 minutes left.
UCLA held Bakersfield to just 38% shooting overall, and shot 50% from the field itself, including 13 for 27 shooting from behind the arc.
Justin McCall scored 11 points and Shaun Williams added 10 for the Roadrunners.
CODY RILEY INJURED
UCLA forward Cody Riley fell awkwardly just eight minutes into the game and grabbed his left knee while rolling back and forth in pain. After several minutes on the court while trainers and staff inspected him, he got up and walked to the bench on his own, but his walk was wobbly as some fans chanted his name.
Riley, a redshirt senior who averaged 10 points per game last season, grabbed three rebounds in his four minutes and did not return to the game.
It could further impact the depth of the frontcourt. Center Mac Etienne suffered a potential season-ending injury to his right knee, according to Coach Mick Cronin. The 6-foot-10 freshman is waiting for final confirmation from the medical staff on the diagnosis of the injury and a timetable for return.
More to come on this story.
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
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