UCLA
3-0
South Carolina State
0-4
UCLA Races Past South Carolina State, 96-68
November 17, 2017 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ Jaylen Hands scored a team-leading 22 points and Thomas Welsh recorded his second straight double-double as No. 18 UCLA downed South Carolina State, 96-68, before in Pauley Pavilion on Friday night.
ย
Hands, a 6-foot-4 freshman from San Diego, dropped 20 of his 22 points in the second half, helping the Bruins pull away from the visiting Bulldogs midway through the second half. Hands' second-half outburst mirrored the Bruins, as UCLA outscored South Carolina State by a 55-33 margin after halftime.
ย
Welsh finished with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, one shy of tying his career high in rebounds (16). Freshman Chris Smith provided a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points and dishing three assists, while freshman Kris Wilkes totaled 14 points and six rebounds.
ย
Alex Olesinski, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward who redshirted last season, had a productive 22-minute performance by scoring eight points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds.
ย
"I thought both Chris Smith and Alex Olesinski were outstanding all week," head coach Steve Alford said. "Not good, but outstanding on both ends. I thought Chris, defensively, was better tonight than he was a couple of nights ago. Alex has been solid in both of those games, which is great to see."
Postgame Press Conferences: Coach Alford | UCLA's Student-Athletes (Smith, Hands, Olesinski)
Donte Wright led South Carolina State off the bench with a game-high 23 points, converting six of 11 attempts from beyond the arc. The Bruins were able to find their own stroke from distance, drilling 10 of 27 three-point attempts as a team.
ย
The Bruins outrebounded the Bulldogs by a 51-30 margin and logged eight blocks โ two apiece from Welsh and Olesinski.
ย
UCLA (3-0) led throughout the second half after leading, 41-35, at the break. The Bruins used a 12-0 run โ that began with 10:05 left in regulation โ to help put the game out of reach. A layup from Smith and a pair of free throws from G.G. Goloman put the Bruins ahead, 67-57, with 8:15 left. From there, UCLA scored the game's next 10 points to secure a 20-point cushion โ 77-57 with 6:25 to go.
Through the final seven minutes of the contest, Hands scored 13 points, connecting on each of his final five field goal attempts.
ย
Next up for the Bruins is a trip to Kansas City, Mo., where UCLA will take on Creighton (3-0) on Monday evening in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center. Game time is 4 p.m. (PT)/6 p.m. (CT). The Bruins' game against Creighton will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
ย
UCLA will face either Baylor or Wisconsin at the Sprint Center on Tuesday evening. That game will take place at either 4:30 p.m. (PT)/6:30 p.m. (CT) or 7 p.m. (PT)/9 p.m. (CT).
ย
