Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard scored 19 points apiece to help second-ranked UCLA trounce Cal State Bakersfield 95-58 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles in the season opener for both teams.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 points and Tyger Campbell had 10 for UCLA, which never trailed in the easy victory. Bernard made four 3-pointers.
Justin McCall scored 11 points for Cal State Bakersfield, and Shaun Williams and David Walker added 10 apiece.
UCLA big man Cody Riley departed with a left knee injury with 12:08 left in the first half and didn’t return. Bakersfield’s Grehlon Easter crashed into Riley’s leg during a scramble for the ball.
Riley is one of five returning starters from the UCLA team that notched five straight victories in last season’s NCAA Tournament. The Bruins reached the Final Four before losing 93-90 in overtime to Gonzaga.
Against the Roadrunners, UCLA shot 50 percent from the field and made 13 of 27 from 3-point range.
Bakersfield connected on just 37.5 percent of its shots, including 7 of 17 from behind the arc.
Bernard and Campbell opened the scoring with 3-pointers as UCLA jumped out to a 9-2 lead.
Bakersfield trailed just 11-9 after Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with 13:43 left in the first half.
However, UCLA responded with a 23-4 run to take control.
Campbell capped a 15-2 burst with two free throws to make it 26-11 with 8:16 remaining.
Kaleb Higgins scored on a put-back for the Roadrunners before the Bruins rattled off eight more in a row. Juzang sank two free throws to make it 34-13 with 5:52 left.
UCLA continued the assault and Jaquez hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to make it 47-19 at the break.
Juzang drained a 3-pointer and added a basket as the lead reached 57-23 with 16:24 remaining.
Later in the half, Juzang hit a jumper followed by a 3-pointer and Jaquez scored on a fastbreak layup. That 7-0 spurt gave the Bruins a 75-39 edge with 9:26 left to play, and the hosts cruised to the finish.
–Field Level Media