Men’s basketball snaps losing streak in 77-45 win against CSUN

There’s a storm brewing on the horizon for UCLA men’s basketball, but on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion, it was smooth sailing – the team trounced Cal State Northridge 77-45.

The nation’s best team – Kentucky – will arrive in Westwood on Thursday, sure to challenge a Bruin team still getting its sea legs. While Sunday marked UCLA’s most decisive win of the season, CSUN has won just two games this season, dropping its other matchups by an average of 13 points.

“Obviously Northridge is a little undermanned, they’re not very deep,” said coach Steve Alford. “Those guys played very hard and that’s what we need. We need a team to play hard against us, to challenge us and I thought we met a lot of challenges.”

Sunday’s win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Bruins stemming from last week’s Maui Jim Maui Invitational, where UCLA struggled against top-tier talent Kansas as well as mid-tiers UNLV and Wake Forest, who forced close finishes.

“In Maui we had a couple rough starts. … It’s kind of been something that’s been happening to us so it was part of the game plan to get ahead first and punch first and then keep on punching,” said junior guard Bryce Alford. “It’s never easy to play three games in three days. This isn’t (Amateur Athletic Union).”

An off-night for Alford proved to be just the opposite for the rest of his teammates. Entering the game averaging 16.4 points per game, Alford shot just three-of-10 from field goal range for eight total points. The guard ran the offense for one of the first times since freshman Aaron Holiday started the season at point guard.

In contrast to Alford’s shooting woes, the Bruins as a whole shot 42.6 percent from field goal range, including 37.5 percent from beyond the arc, contributing to Alford’s 10-assist total. Holiday was flawless from behind the 3-point line, knocking down all three of his attempts and scoring 13 points for the Bruins.

Senior forward Tony Parker posted his fifth double-double in seven games with 14 points and 11 rebounds, despite being sick. Parker struggled in Hawaii, recording only one double-double as he was held to single-digit scoring against UNLV.

UCLA outmatched CSUN in every facet of the game, leading for 38 of the 40-minute game with solid bench-scoring and staunch defense – forcing 15 turnovers for 17 points. The Matadors also shot 29.3 percent from the field and nine percent from 3-point range, totaling only nine assists compared to the Bruins’ 21.

“We finally held a team to below 30 percent shooting and below 50 points,” Steve Alford said. “Hopefully we can gain a little bit of confidence and momentum going into what’s going to be a really big week.”

Junior guard Isaac Hamilton was one Bruin who had a turnaround game, leading the offense with 14 points, four assists and no turnovers – a far cry from his performance in the season-opener against Monmouth, when he scored four points and failed to hit a single field goal.

“When (Hamilton) brings his toughness we all kinda rise to his level,” Parker said. “We just need him to keep playing like he played tonight and we’re gonna be fine.”