LOS ANGELES – Six Bruins scored in double figures as the No. 9 UCLA men’s basketball team defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 106-37, and set the program record for margin of victory with the 69-point win.
Nikola Kusturica led UCLA (3-0) in scoring for the second consecutive game, totaling 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He also had three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jaylen Petty scored 16 points, Azavier Robinson registered 15 points, and Eric Dailey Jr. tallied 13 points. Trent Perry had his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 assists. Joe Philon III had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.
The Bruins surged ahead early, jumping ahead by a 13-0 margin in the game’s first 5:04. Arkansas-Pine Bluff made a pair of free throws with 14:32 to play in the first half and did not record a made shot until the 13:29 mark.
From that point in the opening half, UCLA used a 20-0 scoring run to secure a 33-4 cushion. The Bruins led the visiting Golden Lions (0-3) at halftime, 51-9.
UCLA limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to nine first-half points, tied for the fewest points scored in any half by a Bruins’ opponents since back through the 1975-76 season (the year after head coach John Wooden retired). UCLA had limited Howard to nine points in the first half of a 63-52 win on Dec. 19, 1983 at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins led at halftime in that game, 29-9.
The Bruins outscored Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a 55-28 margin in the second half.
UCLA’s 69-point victory margin eclipsed the school record of 65 points, accomplished three previous times in three different decades (Jan. 1967 against Portland, Dec. 1954 against New Mexico, and Dec. 1946 versus the Los Angeles Police). The Bruins also had a 64-point win over Texas A&M during the 1971-72 season and raced past Morgan State by 61 points on Dec. 1, 1999.
Macaleab Rich was the only player from Arkansas-Pine Bluff to score in double figures, totaling 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
The Bruins finished the game with 29 assists and 13 turnovers, logging 19 steals and four blocks. Dailey Jr. tallied a team-high four steals, while Petty, Philon III and Robinson each logged three steals.
UCLA had opened its lead to 70 points in the final three minutes of the game, as a 3-pointer by Markell Alston pushed the Bruins ahead, 101-31.
The Bruins will return to action next week with home contests against Long Beach State on Monday, Nov. 16 and Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The Bruins’ contest next Monday will begin at 7 p.m. (PT) and will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network.