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UCLA men’s basketball trails crosstown rival USC at halftime

Junior guard Chris Smith led UCLA men’s basketball in first-half points and rebounds Saturday night with 11 and seven, respectively. (Axel Lopez/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Jared Tay

Jan. 11, 2020 8:19 p.m.

It’s all hands on deck for the Bruins in their Saturday night matchup with the crosstown rival Trojans.

In front of sold out Pauley Pavilion, eleven different Bruins have checked in for UCLA men’s basketball (8-7, 1-1 Pac-12) as it trails USC (12-3, 1-1) at the half 33-31. While junior guard Chris Smith and redshirt freshman guard Tyger Campbell lead the Bruins in minutes played, five others have already tallied at least five minutes of game time.

Smith leads the Bruins with 11 points and seven rebounds, with freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez posting five of his own. Less than three minutes in, Smith got the Bruin crowd energized early with a dunk over USC guard Daniel Utomi.

However, the UCLA bench has accounted for over one-third of the team’s first-half points. Redshirt sophomore forward/center Jalen Hill leads the bench with four points, while sophomore guard Jules Bernard is right behind him with a lone three-pointer to his name.

Freshman guard Jake Kyman and redshirt freshman forward Shareef O’Neal have played a combined 15 minutes and logged four points for the Bruins.

The Bruins worked to get the ball into the paint, with 18 of their points coming from inside. UCLA has also attacked the glass, out-rebounding USC 20-17 overall and 8-4 on the offensive boards.

The offensive rebounds have spelled 11 second-chance points for UCLA – almost triple that of USC.

Guard Ethan Anderson leads the Trojans with 12 points, going 5-of-7 from the field, and has cashed in on his one three-point attempt for the game. Trojan forward Nick Rakocevic has contributed six points for his squad, with four of them coming from the free-throw line.

UCLA shot just four free throws in the opening frame compared to USC’s 12.

The Bruins have largely trailed since tipoff despite the two-point differential at the half, with the Trojans leading the contest for over three-quarters of the game thus far.

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Jared Tay | Sports senior staff
Tay is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the men's basketball beat. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, men's tennis, cross country and women's tennis beats. Tay was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
Tay is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the men's basketball beat. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, men's tennis, cross country and women's tennis beats. Tay was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
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