University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
1-0
Pacific
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific | 39 | 41 | 80 |
| UCLA | 63 | 56 | 119 |
UCLA Cruises Past Pacific in Season Opener, 119-80
November 11, 2016 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – Freshmen Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf each recorded double-doubles and Bryce Alford scored a game-high 30 points to lead No. 16 UCLA past Pacific, 119-80, in the Bruins' season opener in Pauley Pavilion on Friday night.
Ball finished with 19 points and a game-high 11 assists, committing just one turnover, while classmate Leaf had 22 points and a team-leading 15 rebounds. Ball was two rebounds shy of a triple-double, grabbing eight boards in his official collegiate debut.
In addition, Aaron Holiday recorded 18 points and five assists off the bench and Isaac Hamilton netted 17 points and eight assists.
UCLA was on fire from 3-point range, setting a school single-game record with 18 made 3-pointers (on 30 attempts). That also marked a single-game record for the most made 3-point shots in Pauley Pavilion – previously, Arizona had made 14 in a game in Pauley in Jan. 2004.
The outcome of Friday night's season opener was never in doubt, as the Bruins built an 11-point lead with 13:09 to play in the game, leading 22-11, before securing a 20-point cushion at 47-27 with 5:56 left in the opening half.
Not missing a beat after a strong freshman season, Holiday entered the contest midway through the first half and proceeded to score UCLA's next 10 points over a 1:27 span. Holiday's spark helped UCLA extend a 17-9 cushion to 24-13 by the 12:34 mark.
UCLA led by a 63-39 margin at halftime and never saw its lead fall to fewer than 25 points through the game's final 18 minutes.
Among the most electric plays of the game occurred with 2:34 to play in the first half. Moving in transition on a 2-on-1 situation, Holiday found a rising Ball, and the 6-foot-6 freshman from Chino Hills, Calif., threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk to get the crowd out of its seat.
Alford was particularly efficient for the Bruins, totaling 30 points while making 9 of 13 field goals, including 6 of 9 attempts from 3-point distance. The 6-foot-3 senior guard reached the 30-point plateau for the third time in his career and was one point shy of his career-high 31 points (which he logged as a freshman).
Pacific's T.J. Wallace led the visiting Tigers (0-1) with 21 points.
Friday night's game marked Pacific's first contest under the leadership of first-year head coach Damon Stoudamire.
The season opener marked UCLA's first of eight games that will be played over a 20-day stretch – concluding with a home contest on Nov. 30 against UC Riverside. In fact, the Bruins are scheduled to play three more home games over the course of the next nine days.
UCLA is back in Pauley Pavilion against CSUN on Sunday, Nov. 13. Game time is 6 p.m. The Bruins' game against CSUN will be televised by Pac-12 Network.
