UCLA men’s basketball leads Stanford 36-22 at the half in first round of Pac-12
Sophomore guard Chris Smith scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first half of UCLA men’s basketball’s first-round matchup with Stanford at the Pac-12 tournament Wednesday night. The Bruins lead the Cardinal 36-22 at the half. (Mia Kayser/Daily Bruin staff)
By Ryan Smith
March 13, 2019 7:20 p.m.
The Bruins didn’t get off to the strong start they had hoped for, but are still in control early.
Despite missing 11 of its first 14 shots from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, No. 7-seeded UCLA men’s basketball (16-15, 9-9 Pac-12) leads No. 10-seeded Stanford (15-15, 8-10) 36-22 at the half of their first-round matchup at the Pac-12 tournament.
The two schools began the contest combining to miss 22 of their first 26 shots, but the Bruins managed to jump out to an early 7-0 lead. The Cardinal did not get on the board until the game was nearly was four minutes into the first half, and failed to score again until the 12:51 mark.
Despite the cold spell early, UCLA finished the half shooting 42 percent while knocking down four of its eight attempts from beyond the arc. Stanford, however, ended the half at just 23 percent from the floor, and missed 10 of its 11 3-point tries.
Sophomore guard Jaylen Hands led the way for the Bruins, pouring in 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He also added six rebounds and a pair of steals in his 19 minutes of action.
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes – the team’s leading scorer for the season – struggled to find his rhythm early, missing 6 of his 8 attempts from the field in the first half.
The Cardinal, on the other hand, had no scorers with more than seven points in the first half.
Should UCLA advance past Stanford, it would be slated for a meeting with No. 2-seeded Arizona State on Thursday night.
