No. 15 UCLA Cruises Past West Georgia, 83-62

LOS ANGELES – The No. 15-ranked UCLA men's basketball team cruised past West Georgia, 83-62, behind Tyler Bilodeau's 21-point outing in a nonconference game on Monday evening at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.

UCLA (3-0) secured its third straight victory, following a dominant second-half effort. The Bruins shot 49.1 percent from the field (27-of-55) and dished out 21 assists on 27 made baskets. The Bruins also capitalized at the foul line, converting 23-of-26 free throws. Bilodeau led the way at the free throw stripe, going 6-for-6.

Four Bruins reached double figures in the win. Bilodeau led all scorers with 21 points, Trent Perry added 17, Eric Dailey Jr. chipped in with 14, and Jamar Brown contributed 10.

Perry delivered a strong performance in his first collegiate start, setting career highs in points (17), assists (9), and minutes played (37). The sophomore guard made 5 of 11 shots and connected on 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. In addition, Perry knocked down 5 of 6 free throw attempts.

"Young players shoot at a lower percentage, older players shoot a higher percentage," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "It doesn't matter if it's high school, college or the NBA. He took care of the ball with nine assists to two turnovers. He's worked hard. He has got stronger and he's done a great job."

West Georgia (1-2) was led by Shelton Williams-Dryden (16 points) on the offensive end. Brady Hardewig hit four three-pointers to finish with 14 points and Chas Lewless also ascended into double-digits with 13 points.

A strong UCLA stretch created breathing room midway through the second half. Brown sparked the surge with back-to-back three-pointers, followed by Bilodeau converting a hoop-and-harm to cap a 13-3 run. Perry added his second triple of the night, and Booker punctuated the sequence with a powerful dunk to push the lead to 14 at the under-12 media timeout.

The Bruins' offense started to find their rhythm, converting on 11 of its first 13 shot attempts in the second half.

UCLA put together an 8-0 scoring run to push its lead to the 20-point mark with just under 10 minutes left to play. Perry scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half to help the Bruins cruise to the finish line, earning the 83-62 victory after out-scoring the Wolves 46-30 in the last 20 minutes.

"Our second half defense was definitely better," Coach Cronin said. "They shot 69 percent in the first half and 33 percent in the second. We got 34 deflections. It was interesting at the timeouts – whenever they were making shots, we had no deflections for four minutes. We pulled away early, 20-9, and we had six deflections. It's a direct correlation of your effort. A comfortable team will shoot 90 percent. It was great they made us compete tonight. We do not need a false sense of security. Pepperdine, Eastern Washington – they all made us compete. The worst thing you can have is a team that just lays down."

Bilodeau anchored the Bruins' offense in the opening 20 minutes, scoring seven of the team's first nine points while connecting on three of his first four attempts from the field. He finished the opening half with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a three-pointer.

Xavier Booker threaded a pass to a cutting Bilodeau who finished through contact for a three-point play to open the contest. West Georgia responded with a flurry of three-pointers, including three makes in quick succession, to keep pace in the early minutes, knotting the score at 9-9 by the game's first media timeout.

UCLA began to separate midway through the half with an 11-0 run, sparked by defensive pressure that forced six turnovers in a four-minute span. Dailey Jr. fueled the surge with five points, including a triple.

A 7-0 UCLA scoring run, punctuated by Bilodeau's second triple, gave the Bruins their largest lead of the half at 13. However, West Georgia clawed back with three more shots from distance, including two from Hardewig, to trim the margin. Despite UCLA's defensive pressure, the Wolves stayed within reach by shooting 9-of-13 from deep in the opening half, heading into the break down just 37-32.

The Bruins will gear up for a high-profile showdown with No. 5-ranked Arizona on Friday, Nov. 14, at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT), with live coverage available on Peacock. UCLA's game will follow a nonconference matchup between Illinois and USC, set to begin at the arena at 4:30 p.m. (PT).

Following this Friday's game, the Bruins will host a pair of games next week – against Sacramento State on Tuesday, Nov. 18, and versus Presbyterian on Friday, Nov. 21.

Recent Results

Upcoming Events

No. 15 UCLA Cruises Past West Georgia, 83-62

Next Event

Team Stats

Tyler Bilodeau

Trent Perry

Eric Dailey Jr.

Jamar Brown

Players Mentioned

Tyler Bilodeau

Xavier Booker

Jamar Brown

Eric Dailey Jr.

Trent Perry

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 15 UCLA Cruises Past West Georgia, 83-62

Related News

Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Tyler Bilodeau

Trent Perry

Eric Dailey Jr.

Jamar Brown

Players Mentioned

Tyler Bilodeau

Xavier Booker

Jamar Brown

Eric Dailey Jr.

Trent Perry

Related News

Related Videos