Before departing for its first major test of the young season, the UCLA men's basketball team took care of business Wednesday and rolled to a 78-58 win over Long Island in a nonconference contest at Pauley Pavilion.

Adem Bona scored a game-high 20 points, Aday Mara added 14, Sebastian Mack had 11 and Jan Vide chipped in 12 off the bench for UCLA (3-0), which shot 56.6% from the field — including 18 of 26 in the second half.

The Bruins played a third consecutive game without freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel, who continues to await clearance to compete from the NCAA.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin also adjusted his starting lineup, going with redshirt sophomore point guard Will McClendon and 7-foot-3 freshman center Aday Mara. It was Mara's first collegiate start.

Sophomore point guard Dylan Andrews, who scored 18 points in last Friday's 68-50 win over Lafayette, did not play. Cronin said it was a coach's decision.

Terell Strickland and Eric Acker scored 18 points apiece to pace LIU (0-3). The Sharks were limited to just 6-of-27 shooting in the opening half before finishing at 34.6% from the floor.

The Bruins will now turn their attention to a loaded Maui Invitational field, opening the three-game stay in Hawaii with a showdown Monday against No. 4-ranked Marquette. Four other Associated Press Top 25 teams also are taking part, including top-ranked Kansas, No. 2 Purdue, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 11 Gonzaga.

After trailing 5-4 and committing three turnovers prior to the first media timeout, the Bruins went on a 14-2 run capped by a Bona steal and transition dunk to force a Sharks timeout at the 11:53 mark.

UCLA led 35-17 at the half, using its size to own a 26-11 rebounding edge and 16-2 advantage in the paint over the first 20 minutes.

The Bruins then made eight of their first 11 shots to open the second half and ran away with the victory.

Bona could have been the easy, more obvious choice, but Mara’s presence as the game went on was hard to miss.

It took a while for the Spaniard to settle in, but with each basket he grew more and more comfortable.

Mara displayed both his soft touch and footwork around the basket, as well as a feathery shooting touch in the second half on a mid-range jumper from the left elbow.

Past the midway point of the second half, Mara then held the ball high above his head at the 3-point line as Jan Vide used him as a screen, headed to the basket and received a bounce pass from Mara for an uncontested layup.

There were still some kinks to iron out, such as a basket interference call on a missed Bona shot on the Bruins' first offensive possession of the game that would have been fine under FIBA rules. But Mara showed enough in his first true extended minutes of the season to flash his potential.

With Mara patrolling the middle and facing the Sharks' small lineup, Bona showed his versatility and looked comfortable picking up his man at the 3-point line.

On one ocassion, he helped steer a ball handler who tried to drive against him toward Mara and the two combined on an early contested shot that never stood a chance, with Bona's 6-foot-10 length on the smaller side of the two giants.

Bona's activity also did not take away from his energy on the offensive end of the floor nor his rebounding.

Nearing the midway point of the first half, Bona poked away a lazy pass and sprinted down the floor for a coast-to-coast, two-handed dunk to push the early lead to 18-7.

It's not just that the Bruins relied on their size to overwhelm the Sharks, the UCLA guards made sure to get in on the act. McClendon had five first-half rebounds alone.

The Bruins came out of the halftime break strong and pushed the lead to as many as 30 within the first nine minutes.

UCLA had five other players score at least two points along with the four double-digit scorers.