This post was updated Nov. 11 at 10:28 p.m.
If UCLA wanted to match the length of Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s name, it could write out University of California, Los Angeles.
But if the Golden Lions wanted to level the playing field with the Bruins, they had no such luck.
No. 9 UCLA men’s basketball (3-0) delivered Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-3) a 106-37 beatdown Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion. The 69-point win is the Bruins’ largest margin of victory in program history, breaking the previous record of 65 set nearly 60 years ago.
The Bruins’ offense was firing on every single cylinder. Sophomore guard Azavier Robinson set a career high with 15 points. Student manager-turned-guard junior Jordan Houegban made his first field goal – a 3-pointer in garbage time. The Bruins as a whole shot 40-for-68 from the field and 13-for-28 from deep.
Before the season, former Bruin forward Tyler Bilodeau’s departure left UCLA’s offense in question, with the team’s leading scorer in each of the past two seasons being drafted to the NBA.
Though sophomore guard Jaylen Petty may not make up for Bilodeau’s physical presence – the former standing 6-foot-1 and the latter 6-foot-8 – the Texas Tech transfer’s perimeter accuracy is hard to miss. Petty finished with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting and is making 47.6% of his 3-point attempts this season.
UCLA’s 17-year-old freshman phenom brought the sparse crowd to life once again. Guard/forward Nikola Kusturica followed up his 29-point performance Friday with 17 points on a 7-for-9 clip from the field.
Junior guard Trent Perry recorded his first career double-double, with 11 points and 11 assists Wednesday. Coach Mick Cronin said watching Perry was like having former Bruin Tyger Campbell back on the floor – except Perry is taller and a better offensive player.
“I actually had a talk with my dad before the game,” Perry said. “He asked me, ‘When’s the last time I played free?’ From there, I was like, ‘I’m going to just go in and let the game come to me.’”
Cronin, arguably the nation’s premier defensive-minded collegiate head coach, has said that 3-point shooting is volatile – and something he wouldn’t want to depend on.
Against the Golden Lions, the Bruins’ accuracy from deep seemed like anything but a crutch. An already struggling Arkansas-Pine Bluff offense – which was defeated 106-61 by then-No. 12 Arkansas and 109-53 by Baylor – was held to a 14-for-51 showing from the field and a 2-for-20 rate from beyond the arc, both of which were season lows for the still-winless program.
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“Our help defense was much better tonight than it was in the North Florida game,” Cronin said.
The Golden Lions’ nine points at halftime matched UCLA’s record for the fewest scored by an opponent in the first half since at least 1975.
The Bruins had their first postgame lift of the season, something the team has been wanting to implement from both a camaraderie and a maintenance standpoint, Perry said.
“The games, they were too late,” Kusturica said.
UCLA will play Long Beach State on Monday at Pauley Pavilion – the third game of its five-game homestand.
Fortunately for the team, Wednesday’s 6 p.m. tipoff – compared to Friday’s 7:30 p.m. start – had its benefits.
“They asked me to come to the voluntary lift with them, but one, I don’t want to embarrass (senior guard/forward) Brandon Williams,” Cronin said. “Plus, I’ve got to go get something to eat.”
