UCLA men’s basketball leads Oregon State 40-31 at halftime
In his first career start, freshman guard David Singleton scored eight points in the first half on 2-of-2 shooting from deep. Singleton is UCLA men’s basketball’s leading 3-point shooter, owning a 44.2 percent mark from downtown. (Joe Akira/Daily Bruin staff)
By Sam Connon
Feb. 21, 2019 9:14 p.m.
David Singleton entered the game with the second-best offensive rating by a UCLA freshman guard this decade.
In his first career start, the Bruins hit the ground running on the offensive end.
UCLA men’s basketball (13-13, 6-7 Pac-12) leads Oregon State (16-8, 8-4) 40-31 at halftime at Pauley Pavilion. Both teams started 8-of-11 from the field, but the Bruins held the Beavers to 0-of-5 shooting and three turnovers on their next eight possessions.
UCLA used that stretch to go on a 10-0 run. The only scoring Singleton did during that stretch was off of two free throws, but he entered the half tied for the team lead in points with eight.
Singleton – who leads the Bruins in 3-point shooting with a 44.2 percentage – hit two early triples, including one on a dribble-drive kick-out from sophomore guard Jaylen Hands less than two minutes into the game.
That assist was the first of six for Hands, the Pac-12’s leading passer. Hands also scored seven points and hit a step-back 3 on the first possession of the game to get the ball rolling for UCLA.
Freshman center Moses Brown racked up eight points and eight boards in the first period, and he leads the Bruins with a plus-11 plus-minus so far. The highlight of his night so far, however, was when Brown – a 35.3 percent free-throw shooter – hit 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
Oregon State forward Tres Tinkle leads all scorers with 13 points, but he also leads both teams with three turnovers. Tinkle played all 20 minutes in the half.
Despite being down nine at the half, the Beavers still have the chance to sweep the Bruins after beating UCLA by 13 on Jan. 13.
