Men’s basketball leads Washington by 10 points at halftime
Junior guard Chris Smith posted 11 points and four rebounds in the first half against Washington on Thursday. Smith entered the game averaging 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on the season.
(Courtesy of Lydia Ely/UW Daily)
By Sam Connon
Jan. 2, 2020 8:23 p.m.
Both teams fell victim to foul trouble in the first half, but the visiting Bruins pounced and took an early lead.
UCLA men’s basketball (7-6) leads Washington (10-3) 34-24 at halftime in the Bruins’ Pac-12 season opener. After five lead changes in the first 5:30 of the game, UCLA outscored Washington 24-15 to close out the frame.
The Huskies’ duo of five-star freshman – forwards Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels – played limited minutes in the opening half, as the two combined for six fouls over the first 20 minutes. McDaniels and Stewart were averaging a combined 33.5 points per game entering Thursday’s game – the most in the country by a freshman duo – but they have combined to hit just three field goals so far Thursday.
McDaniels played 10 minutes and picked up four fouls, with his last one coming on a technical when he threw a ball at redshirt senior guard Prince Ali’s head from the bench. Stewart still managed to put up 10 points – despite shooting just 2-of-5 from the field – and three blocks.
Redshirt sophomore forwards Cody Riley and Jalen Hill combined for five fouls of their own in the first half. Hill came off the bench for the first time since UCLA’s season-opener on Nov. 6, but he still managed to play 14 minutes in the opening frame while Riley played just six.
With Hill and Riley struggling with fouls, freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and junior guard Chris Smith led the Bruins in rebounds with six and four, respectively. Smith also paced UCLA with 11 points, while Jaquez Jr. picked up three steals to go along with a plus-12 plus-minus.
Ten of UCLA’s points came off of Washington turnovers and seven came off of second-chance looks. Entering Thursday, the Bruins were shooting 30.2% from long range on the season, but freshman guard/forward Jake Kyman’s 2-of-4 performance in the first half helped carry the team to a 40% clip from deep.
