UCLA’s protection was dominant in opposition to a winless opponent Friday evening, with the Bruins controlling a recreation that rapidly bought out of hand.
The Bruins delivered their second consecutive lopsided win in opposition to a mid-major, 85-45 over Lehigh at Pauley Pavilion.
Coming into the sport, UCLA (3-1) had restricted opponents to 54 factors per recreation, tied for twelfth nationally early within the season. Lehigh fell wanting that mark.
The Mountain Hawks (0-4) struggled to beat the Bruins’ backcourt strain and did not capitalize on alternatives within the frontcourt. UCLA’s stifling protection restricted Lehigh to fifteen of 51 capturing (29.4%).
UCLA’s first-half offense relied on two decisive runs to construct its benefit.
The Bruins opened with a 15-3 run, however allowed the Mountain Hawks to chip away, narrowing the hole to simply two factors. UCLA responded, closing the half with a potent 25-3 run, holding Lehigh to simply three factors in the course of the closing 10:35 of the primary half.
Protection remained a shiny spot, with UCLA forcing 11 turnovers.
On offense, the win was an ensemble effort, with 4 Bruins scoring in double figures.
Eric Dailey Jr. led the way in which with a double-double, ending with 17 factors on six-of-11 capturing and 10 rebounds.
Tyler Bilodeau, Aday Mara and Sebastian Mack additionally reached double figures. Bilodeau set the tone early, scoring 11 of his 15 factors within the first half. Mara contributed 14 factors, with the 7-foot-3 middle slamming down two alley oops. Mack added 10 to spherical out the trouble.
