UCLA
15-1, 2-1
California
10-5, 1-2
No. 4 UCLA Outlasts California, 81-71
January 05, 2017 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ Bryce Alford scored a game-high 24 points and TJ Leaf finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds as No. 4 UCLA outlasted California, 81-71, before a sellout crowd of 13,659 in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday.
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Alford made 5 of 7 shots from three-point range and 8 of 13 total shots to help UCLA (15-1, 2-1 Pac-12) secure the victory in its first Pac-12 home game of the season.
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California's Ivan Rabb registered 17 points and a game-high 20 rebounds, as one of four Golden Bears to score in double figures. Grant Mullins connected on 5 of 8 three-pointers and finished with a team-leading 19 points.
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Lonzo Ball had 14 points and seven assists for UCLA, and Thomas Welsh totaled 10 points, rounding out the Bruins' list of four double-digit scorers.
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Alford scored 16 of his 24 points before halftime, having made each of his first four three-point attempts.
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After the Bruins raced to a 44-24 lead by halftime against California (10-5, 1-2), UCLA pushed its margin to as many as 24 points with less than 14 minutes to go. The visiting Golden Bears cut their deficit to five points โ 76-71 โ with 43 seconds to go, but the Bruins held on for the 10-point win.
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"There were a lot of lessons in this game that I'm excited about," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "This is a team that has to continue to learn things. We probably shot the ball and scored close to the fewest points in a half, but that's probably our worst shooting second half. This is a very good defensive team. They hang their hat defensively, and I think that we learned a valuable lesson."
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UCLA shot nearly 52 percent in the first half, making 17 of 33 shots, to secure a 20-point halftime cushion.
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Leading 10-9 with 14:56 to play in the opening half, the Bruins used a 16-3 lead to create some separation. UCLA's first-half scoring run included a highlight-reel dunk over a defender by Leaf at the 12:26 mark.
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In the second half, a pair of free throws from Leaf before a steal and fastbreak layup from Ball at the 13:43 mark put UCLA ahead by a 56-32 margin, the team's largest lead of the night.
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The Bruins finished Thursday night's game having shot 43.5 percent from the field, recording 18 assists, seven steals and six blocked shots.
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UCLA will return to action against Stanford (8-7, 0-3 Pac-12) on Sunday, Jan. 8. Game time in Pauley Pavilion is 5ย p.m. (PT). The Bruins' game will be nationally televised by Fox Sports 1 with Aaron Goldsmith and Steve Lavin calling the action.
