98 points. Two turnovers. 57.1% from downtown.
| Men’s Basketball |
|---|
| Rutgers — 66 |
| UCLA — 98 |
UCLA was firing on all cylinders.
“Everything just felt good today, coming from the first shot,” said junior center Xavier Booker.
Booker poured in a career-high 24 points on 10-for-11 shooting, while senior forward Tyler Bilodeau followed right behind with 19 points and seven boards.
“Coming off a game against Indiana like that, it’s definitely a blow,” added Bilodeau. “But I thought we did a good job the last couple days in practice really coming together and staying focused … and I think we did a good job tonight. We just gotta keep building off that.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, Rutgers (9-14, 2-10 Big Ten) had no answers for UCLA’s offense as the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) cruised past the Scarlet Knights 98-66. Former Bruin and NBA No.2 overall pick Lonzo Ball was sitting courtside at Pauley Pavilion, serving as the game’s honorary captain.
Both teams found their rhythm early, trading tough buckets in the opening minutes. Rutgers struck first on a pull-up middy from Kaden Powers, but UCLA answered quickly with a top-of-the-key triple from Booker, his first of four threes on the night.
Soon after, Bilodeau took control, burying a catch-and-shoot three from the left corner and then drilling a long two from the opposite side, giving UCLA an early 7-point lead. This forced Rutgers to call a timeout, and the Scarlet Knights responded immediately out of the break with a triple from Tariq Francis and a contested pull-up jumper from Powers, cutting the lead to two.
Nonetheless, Bilodeau continued to stay hot, nailing another one from downtown and then cutting in for an easy lay-up off a dime from Booker.
The Bruins built on the lead heading into halftime, capped by a difficult one-handed floater from senior guard Donovan Dent to make it a 12-point game. Despite UCLA’s emphatic first-half offense, Rutgers was able to stay afloat by shooting 53.3% from the field and 50% from three, led by Powers’ 18 points.
The second half was a different story.
Rutgers shot only 32%, including 10% from three, and Powers did not score another point. Meanwhile, UCLA remained consistent, knocking down six threes and outscoring the Scarlet Knights by 20 points in the second half alone.
With six minutes left, Dent dished his 11th assist of the night to sophomore guard Trent Perry, who found his way to the rim and pushed the Bruins’ lead to 27. A few possessions later, both teams emptied out their benches and let the clock run out.
“Guys handled it great tonight,” said head coach Mick Cronin. “25 assists, probably a season high. Donnie continues to pass and take care of the ball. Great to see Xavier Booker smile.”
Looking to carry the momentum forward, UCLA will remain in Los Angeles to host Washington on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. PST.
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Featured Image via UCLA Athletics
