LOS ANGELES — Coming into the 2024-25 men's basketball season, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin vowed that opponents would have a tough time finding room to operate against his suffocating defense.

For at least the first half on opening night, the Bruins made good on that promise before Cronin called off the dogs against Rider's reserves in the second half.

Forward Tyler Bilodeau was one of four double-digit scorers, finishing with a game-high 18 points in his debut to lead 22nd-ranked UCLA to an 85-50 nonconference win Monday night over Rider at Pauley Pavilion in the first-ever contest between the programs.

The Bruins, who shot 56.3% (18 of 32) from the field in the second half, also got 14 points from point guard Dylan Andrews and 12 apiece from Kobe Johnson and reserve Sebastian Mack.

UCLA (1-0) forced 16 of their 18 points off turnovers in the opening half to build an 18-point lead.

Rider (0-1), which was picked to finish seventh in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, got a team-high 15 points from guard T.J. Weeks Jr. and 14 off the bench from Alaaeddine Boutayeb.

The Broncs crashed the offensive glass, pulling down 18 and converting them into 13 second-chance points. They were limited to 31.7% (20 of 63) shooting, including 5 of 20 on 3-point attempts.

The Bruins will return to action Friday in a neutral-site contest against New Mexico at 8 p.m. The game will be played at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nev.

After missing their first four 3-point attempts, the Bruins ended the slow start with a contested corner 3 from wing Eric Dailey Jr. directly in front of the Broncs' bench.

Following a Rider turnover, Dailey then tacked on a layup and reserve UCLA center Aday Mara produced a blocked shot on the next trip down as part of a 20-11 lead at the 11:31 mark.

Despite shooting just 4 of 14 beyond the arc in the half, the Bruins slowly pushed the lead to as many as 21 before the break.

UCLA did so behind a 16-0 advantage in points off turnovers en route to a 41-23 lead at the half.

Bilodeau did most of his heavy lifting in the second half, scoring 10 of the team's first 15 points. He overcame a slow start before finishing 9 of 16 from the field, including 5 of 6 in the second half.

While he played less than 10 full minutes, Mara showed he was a much stronger and confident player than the one who arrived from Spain last season.

After battling early fatigue that was the result of limited practices while recovering from an offseason injury, Mara had his moments blocking three shots and pulling down two rebounds in his effective spurts.

The Bruins showed their dominance early and led wire to wire.

After losing the rebounding battle in the first half, UCLA finished with a 45-38 edge. The team also turned the ball over just three times over the first 20 minutes.

To make up for early foul trouble to guard Skyy Clark, Mack provided an instant spark and shot 4 of 7 from the field with a pair of made 3-pointers on three attempts.

Starters

PG Dylan Andrews: 14 points (6/11 FGs), 6 assts, 0 TOs

G Skyy Clark: 3 pts (1/5 FGs), 7 assts, 3 TOs, 1 stl

G Kobe Johnson: 12 pts (5/9 FGs), 8 rebs, 3 assts, 2 stls

G/F Eric Dailey Jr.: 9 pts (4/6 FGs), 8 rebs, 2 assts, 1 blk

F Tyler Bilodeau: 18 pts (9/16 FGs), 6 rebs, , 2 stls, 1 blk

Bench

G Sebastian Mack: 12 pts (4/7 FGs), 2 rebs, 1 asst

C Aday Mara: 5 pts (2/3 FGs), 2 rebs, 3 blks