Adem Bona scored 28 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots as UCLA overwhelmed visiting Saint Francis (Pa.) in a 75-44 rout on Monday in Los Angeles.
The Bruins (1-0) overcame a sluggish start on offense to outscore the Red Flash 15-5 over the final 7:26 of the first half. UCLA carried that over into the second half with a 12-5 burst before the first media timeout after intermission.
Bona took over in the second half, scoring 22 of his career-high 28 after the break. His performance helped set the tone for UCLA outscoring Saint Francis 48-12 in the paint.
The Bruins also enjoyed an advantage of 28 points scored off 21 Red Flash turnovers, compared to just Saint Francis notching just five points on seven turnovers.
Lazar Stefanovic finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and a game-high four assists in his UCLA debut, while Kenneth Nwuba shot 4-of-4 from the floor en route to 10 points.
The Bruins hit 29 of 57 shots from the field, including 16 of 28 in the second half despite going just 2-for-9 from 3-point range as a team for the night. Will McClendon, who came off the bench to score five points, connected on his lone attempt from beyond the arc.
McClendon added three assists and two rebounds, and Brandon Williams chipped in another four points and five rebounds off the bench.
Saint Francis (0-1) missed its first seven field-goal attempts in the first half, but battled back to force a 17-17 tie after a stretch hitting 4-of-4.
Gestin Liberis led the Red Flash with 12 points, Carlos Lopez Jr. added eight points and Cam Gregory scored six. Wisler Sanon shot 3-of-4 from the floor and finished with nine points off the bench.
Liberis’ dunk with 7:52 remaining in regulation was Saint Francis’ last made field goal of the game.
–Field Level Media