Coming into the season, UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin knew there would be an acclimation period on the defensive end for his freshman-heavy roster.
The 19th-ranked Bruins got an unexpected, extended look Sunday without their top defender.
UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 points and the Bruins shot 60.8 percent from the field in an 81-60 win over Bellarmine at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA (5-2) pushed the lead to as many as 20 in the second half, but Bellarmine (2-5) pulled down nine offensive rebounds and had 14 second-chance points to stay in the game.
The Knights cut the deficit to 60-50 on Curt Hopf’s layup with 7:46 to play. Hopf, who was fouled on the play, missed the free throw and the Bruins answered with a Tyger Campbell 3-pointer to end a 7-0 run and thwart the comeback attempt.
Ben Johnson had a team-high 20 points off the bench and Hopf added 16 for Bellarmine, which has lost four consecutive games while playing a tough nonconference schedule.
The Bruins were without starting guard Jaylen Clark, who missed Saturday’s practice with flu-like symptoms (not related to COVID-19) and did not dress for the game. Cronin said he hopes to have Clark back for Tuesday’s practice.
UCLA will return to the court Thursday to open Pac-12 Conference play at Stanford.
Turning point of the game
After a sluggish first 9 minutes, a Jaquez Jr. traditional three-point play ignited an 18-5 run and he capped it with another layup to give UCLA the 29-12 lead with 6:05 left in the first half.
As part of the run, the Bruins got out in transition and overwhelmed the Knights while matching their style of play with crisp ball movement.
Bruins standout on offense
With just two Knights players listed taller than 6-foot-8, the match-up was ripe for Jaquez Jr. to exploit early and often.
The 6-foot-7 senior camped out in the post and flashed an array of moves around the basket to get just about any shot he wanted. Jaquez Jr. finished 13 of 17 from the floor.
After being plagued by ankle injuries a season ago, Jaquez Jr. looked as comfortable as he has all season and his footwork was a big reason why.
As a team, UCLA finished with 24 assists on its 29 made field goals. Campbell, who notched a double-double, recorded a game-high 10 assists followed by Bailey’s eight.
Bruins standout on defense
Clark entered the day with 16 steals, which doubles the next highest individual, and consistently collects the most deflections on the team. So, his absence on that end of the floor was worth watching throughout the game with just David Singleton and Campbell as the lone non-freshmen in the backcourt’s regular rotation.
Jaquez Jr. did his best to fill the void, matching Bailey with a game-high four steals.
The Bruins’ energy on the defensive end was high to open the contest. When Bellarmine made its run, UCLA clamped back down on defense to put the game out of reach before the game reached the later stages.
UCLA play of the game
At least once a game, with the turnovers UCLA forces and Adem Bona’s ability to run the floor, it’s almost a guarantee the Bruins will have an alley-oop opportunity or two.
After Bailey just missed connecting with Bona earlier in the game, the freshman big man trailed the play and beat his man down the floor to flush a pass from Campbell to go up 22-10 and force Bellarmine to call a timeout with 8:23 left in the first half.
Before the half was finished, freshman guard Dylan Andrews then found Bona for another lob in traffic.
Why UCLA won
The Bruins scored 17 first-half points off turnovers, coming up with nine of their 15 steals and forcing the Knights into 13 of their 20 turnovers before going into the locker room. That helped UCLA outscore Bellarmine 17-0 on the break for the game. In the paint, UCLA owned a 24-6 advantage in the first half and finished with a 54-20 edge.
Bellarmine also struggled with first-half foul trouble on two of its top players, Johnson and Garrett Tipton, who had three fouls apiece going into the break. For most of the opening half, they were the only two Knights in the scoring column until a brief flurry over the final 3 1/2 minutes.
UCLA stats
Starting five
PG Tyger Campbell: 10 pts on 2/8 shooting (1/4 3-ptrs), 2 rebs, 10 asst, 2 stls
G Amari Bailey: 12 pts on 5/9 shooting (0/3 3-ptrs), 4 rebs, 8 asst, 4 stls, 1 blk
G David Singleton: 5 pts on 2/3 shooting (1/1 3-ptrs), 4 rebs, 2 asst, 2 stls
G/F Jaime Jaquez Jr.: 27 pts on 13/17 shooting (0/3 3-ptrs), 7 rebs, 4 stls, 1 blk
F/C Adem Bona: 16 pts on 6/7 shooting, 5 rebs, 3 asst, 2 blks, 1 stl
Bench
F/C Kenneth Nwuba: 4 pts on 1/1 shooting, 1 stl
G Dylan Andrews: 4 pts on 1/4 shooting (0/3 3-ptrs), 2 rebs, 3 asst, 1 stl
G/F Abramo Canka: 3 pts on 1/2 shooting (1/2 3-ptrs), 1 reb
G Jaylen Clark: DNP (illness, non-COVID-19-related)
F Mac Etienne: DNP (coach’s decision)
F Logan Cremonesi: DNP (coach’s decision)
G Russell Stong: DNP (coach’s decision)
F Evan Manjikian: DNP (coach’s decision)
G Jack Seidler: DNP (coach’s decision)
G Will McClendon: DNP (knee)
