UCLA
3-0,0-0Pac-12
Long Island University
0-3,0-0NEC
No. 25 UCLA Cruises Past LIU, 78-58
November 15, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 25-ranked UCLA men's basketball team cruised past Long Island University, 78-58, in a nonconference game on Wednesday night in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Sophomore Adem Bona led the way for the Bruins with 20 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Bona joined freshman Aday Mara (14 points), freshman Jan Vide (12 points) and freshman Sebastian Mack (11 points) in double figures.
Mara made six of nine shots from the field, totaling four blocks and four rebounds.
Vide was 5-for-7 shooting and 2-for-2 at the free throw stripe. He finished the game with a team-leading seven assists and just one turnover.
The Bruins shot 55.6 percent from the field, sinking 30 of 54 shots. UCLA's streak of 792 consecutive contests with at least one 3-point basket was snapped on Monday night. The Bruins went 0-for-6 from 3-point territory, marking UCLA's first game without a made 3-pointer since Feb. 3, 2000 (in a loss to Stanford in Pauley Pavilion).
"We have got to take care of the basketball," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "I've got to get somebody out there that can take care of the basketball or we're in trouble. We only got 53 shots off. Right now, we're not getting near enough shots off and that goes to our lack of offensive rebounding. Tonight was the best we've done, but you've got to do better. You can't rebound a turnover. To have 14 turnovers is just beyond ridiculous, beyond careless. You have to eliminate empty trips."
UCLA led Long Island by a 35-17 margin at halftime and pushed its advantage to 30 points, midway through the second half.
Long Island took an early 5-2 lead, just three minutes into the game, before UCLA used a 10-0 scoring run to lead by a 12-5 cushion with 13:11 to play in the opening half. From that point, the Bruins never again trailed in the game.
The Bruins added to their lead off of two quick transition buckets on their next two possessions. Vide finished in transition on the first possession, and Bona stole the ball on the next play and took it coast to coast for the slam. That propelled UCLA to an 18-7 lead with 11:53 left in the half.
Lazar Stefanovic jump-started another Bruins scoring run, sinking a mid-range jumper and was then fouled in the process. He helped give UCLA a 24-14 lead with 5:32 remaining. The Bruins closed the first half on a 11-3 scoring run to lead at the intermission, 35-17.
Long Island made two quick three pointers to open the second half before the Bruins responded with a 12-2 run of their own, taking a 47-25 advantage at the 14:56 mark.
UCLA extended its lead to 30 points with 11:16 to go in the contest, when Mara found Vide in the post for the bucket, giving UCLA a 57-27 lead. That made basket was part of a scoring run of just over five minutes – from the 14:08 mark to the 8:45 point in the second half – where Vide tallied 10 points off of 4-of-4 shooting from the floor and sank two free throws.
The Bruins would manage the game from there. Bona recorded his 11th rebound of the game with 5:01 to go and Ilane Fibleuil threw down a dunk on the next possession in the closing minutes to give UCLA a 69-47 lead, and the Bruins would cruise from there to a 78-58 victory on Wednesday.
UCLA will hit the road for the first time this season, heading to the Allstate Maui Invitational to play No. 4 Marquette in their tournament opener on Monday, Nov. 20, at 8:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. in Honolulu). The Bruins' game on Monday at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, will be televised on ESPN2.
