Men’s basketball cedes 20-point loss to Michigan State in Las Vegas Invitational

The Bruins fell asleep after Thanksgiving dinner and never woke up.

No. 17 UCLA men’s basketball (4-1) suffered a 87-67 drubbing at the hands of No. 11 Michigan State (4-1) on Thursday night in the opening round of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.

The Bruins never held a lead in the contest, missing 16 of their first 19 shots to open the game. Meanwhile, the Spartans shot 60 percent from the field and knocked down 10-of-17 attempts from beyond the arc to build up a 25-point lead going into the break.

Sophomore guards Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands combined to go 1-of-12 from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The pair finished the night with 26 points on 9-of-24 shooting.

Freshman center Moses Brown, who entered the game averaging 17.3 points and 12 rebounds per contest, went scoreless until he made a free throw in the first minute of the second half.

The five-star recruit ended the game with 10 rebounds, but was held to just five points on 2-of-5 shooting.

UCLA’s bench provided a solid boost to the offense, with sophomore guard Chris Smith and redshirt freshman forward Cody Riley each scoring in double figures. The Bruins’ bench accounted for 31 of their 67 points in the loss.

Michigan State did most of its damage Thursday night from behind the 3-point line. The Spartans nailed 13 of their 24 attempts from deep in the game, with three separate players knocking down three apiece.

Guard Cassius Winston led Michigan State with 19 points, with 15 of them coming in the first half. Winston also added seven assists to go along with just one turnover.

UCLA will play No. 7 North Carolina (5-1) on Friday afternoon before returning home from Vegas. The Tar Heels fell to the unranked Texas Longhorns (5-0) 92-89 on Thursday night.