In its first road game of the season, UCLA men’s basketball found a home at the free throw line.
After junior guard Bryce Alford missed his first free throw attempt almost eight minutes into the first half, the Bruins (3-1) didn’t miss for the rest of the game, hitting 23 straight to finish 23-of-24.
UCLA (3-1) needed all 23 of them as it beat UNLV (3-1) 77-75 Monday night in the first round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
The Rebels jumped out to an early nine-point lead by pressuring and trapping the Bruins with a full-court press right from the start. UCLA turned it over three times in the first 1:30 of the game before adjusting to the press, which UNLV stayed with for most of the game.
Senior forward/center Tony Parker, who logged three straight double-doubles to begin the season, was plagued by foul troubles all night, finishing with just two points and three rebounds in 11 sporadic minutes.
Once the the Bruin guards began figuring out the full-court press and brought out a 1-2-1 zone defense of their own, UCLA caught up and took the lead behind the strong play of Alford, who finished with 20 points, and sophomore center Thomas Welsh, who posted 20 points and eight rebounds.
Welsh maintained his early season accuracy on his short jumper, making 9-of-12 from the field. Freshman guard Aaron Holiday continued his strong adjustment to the college game with 18 points, shooting 8-of-8 from the free throw line and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
The issue that cost the Bruins a loss in their season opener popped up again: turnovers. They coughed the ball over 19 times while only totaling 12 assists.
UCLA will have to quickly figure out how to keep the ball safe as it plays No. 5 Kansas (1-1) Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the next round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
Compiled by Derrek Li, Bruin Sports senior staff.
