Men’s basketball dominates UC Riverside 98-56
Senior guard Isaac Hamilton paced the Bruins with 27 points, including shooting 7-for-12 from beyond the arc. UCLA finished the game shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. (Hannah Ye/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Derrek Li
Nov. 30, 2016 9:54 p.m.
This post was updated Nov. 30 at 10:30 p.m.
Sandwiched in between winning the Wooden Legacy championship and a date with No. 1 Kentucky, No. 11 UCLA men’s basketball (8-0) still had to take care of business at home.
Against UC Riverside (1-4), the main goal was coming out with focus and intensity instead of falling prey to the classic trap game. But behind a strong start out of the gates, the Bruins capitalized on a 98-56 start-to-finish win over the Highlanders.
“I just liked our guys’ mindset; that’s really all we talked about the last 48 hours,” said coach Steve Alford. “It was about our mindset and focus. I think it’s always crucial at home to let teams know (early) it’s Pauley Pavilion, it’s our house.”
UCLA started the game on a 17-3 run, running the offense through junior center Thomas Welsh who scored eight of the Bruins’ first 13 points.
After that, UCLA kept its foot on the gas. Senior guard Isaac Hamilton scored a game-high 27 points and shot 7-for-12 from behind the 3-point line. Two Bruins finished the night with double-doubles — freshman forward TJ Leaf chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds while Welsh added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Freshman guard Lonzo Ball could have joined the club as well, but only took three shots all game. He ended the night with five points and 13 assists, a UCLA freshman single-game record.
In the tuneup game leading up to the matchup with top-ranked Kentucky, the offense hummed along with UCLA as a team dishing out 29 assists on its 37 made field goals, en route to an efficient 59.7 percent shooting night from the field and 48.1 percent from long range. If this offense can carry over to the game against Kentucky, the Bruins could have a fighting chance.
“It puts me in a better rhythm; it’s just good looks at the end of the day,” Hamilton said. “When the ball moves like that, you’re bound to hit the shot.”
The defense held up as well, limiting UC Riverside to just 30 percent shooting.
Now the attention shifts to Lexington, Kentucky, where the No. 1 team in the nation awaits Saturday.
“It’ll be a great test for us,” Welsh said. “We’ll be able to see what we’re really made of. We’re really looking forward to it.”
