UCLA
2-0
Long Beach State
0-1
No. 20 UCLA Outlasts Long Beach State, 91-80
November 09, 2018 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 20 UCLA men's basketball team improved to 2-0 on Friday night, defeating Long Beach State by a 91-80 margin in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
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Four UCLA starters finished in double-digits. Freshman Moses Brown and Kris Wilkes each scored 17 points. Brown had 10 rebounds, logging his second double-double in as many games.
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In addition, sophomore Jaylen Hands had 14 points and three assists while junior Prince Ali totaled 11 points.
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Freshman David Singleton and sophomore Chris Smith each came off the bench and scored 10 points, pushing UCLA's list of double-figure scorers to six. Smith, who had 13 points and eight rebounds on Tuesday evening in the team's season-opener, finished with seven rebounds and three assists on Friday night.
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Singleton was efficient off the bench, connecting on 3-of-4 shots from 3-point range in 19 minutes of action.
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Friday night's game marked the season opener for Long Beach State (0-1). The visiting 49ers received a team-leading 31 points from Deishuan Booker. He made 9 of 14 shots, including 5 of 7 attempts from 3-point territory. In addition, Booker was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line.
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UCLA trailed through most of the first half but used a 10-0 scoring run to close the gap and secure a 45-41 lead at halftime. Hands nailed an off-balance buzzer-beating 3-point shot to send UCLA into the locker room at the intermission with a four-point advantage.
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Long Beach State had led by as many as seven points midway through the first half.
Jaylen Hands (@JHANDS08) beats the buzzer! 3-pointer to end the first half.
โ UCLA Basketball (@UCLAMBB) November 10, 2018
??: @Pac12Network #LBSUvsUCLA | #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ZPBMCFOEnK
The 49ers stayed close through the first 12 minutes of the second half, but UCLA began to pull away. Freshman Jules Bernard nailed a jump shot that sparked a Bruins' scoring run. UCLA scored 11 consecutive points to secure an 81-64 cushion with 5:08 to play in regulation. Smith had four points during that run, and Brown capped off the scoring spree with a nifty spin-move layup.
Long Beach State countered with their own run, reducing UCLA's lead to 81-76. The Bruins hung tough, answer with an alley-oopย dunk from Ali to Brown, pushing the lead back to seven points. Long Beach State cut the Bruins' margin to six points with 1:57 to play but could not get any closer.
The Bruins will return to action on Friday, Nov. 16. UCLA faces Saint Francis U in Pauley Pavilion in a game that will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. Game time is slated for 8 p.m. (PT).
