Freshman Jaylen Hill collected 20 rebounds and sophomore Jaylen Hands scored 19 points as No. 17 UCLA fought off Presbyterian and posted an 80-65 victory on Monday night at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Hill is the first UCLA player to record 20 or more rebounds in a game since Kevin Love grabbed 21 against Oregon State on Jan. 26, 2008. Hill's efforts helped the Bruins (4-0) hold a 54-32 edge on the boards.
Sophomore Kris Wilkes added 12 points for UCLA. Freshman Moses Brown and sophomore Chris Smith scored 10 points apiece, and Hill had nine.
Freshman Adam Flagler made seven 3-pointers on his way to 29 points for Presbyterian (3-3). Senior Francois Lewis added 10 points for the Blue Hose, who trimmed a 24-point, second-half deficit to three before missing their next nine field-goal attempts.
UCLA shot 44.4 percent from the field -- including 8 of 24 from 3-point range -- and held a 40-4 edge in points in the paint. The Blue Hose shot 31.7 percent from the field, including 13 of 45 from long range.
UCLA appeared to have a comfortable cushion after Wilkes buried a 3-pointer to make it 52-28 with 15:53 remaining.
But Flagler got hot and scored 14 points -- four 3-pointers and two free throws -- during a 17-3 burst that pulled Presbyterian within 55-45 with 10:54 left.
The Bruins moved ahead 61-47 on a three-point play by freshman forward Cody Riley with 9:40 remaining before the Blue Hose went on another burst.
Senior Davon Bell, junior JC Younger and Lewis all connected from 3-point range during an 11-0 run that saw Presbyterian pull within 61-58 with 7:40 left.
But UCLA responded with a 12-2 surge. Hill capped the run with an inside basket to make it 73-60 with 4:13 remaining and the Bruins closed it out.
UCLA scored the first nine points of the game as the Blue Hose missed their first 10 field-goal attempts.
Junior Armel TeTe hit a jumper with 13:33 left in the half to end the Presbyterian drought.
Smith's 3-pointer gave the Bruins a 20-5 lead with 8:28 left, and the advantage reached 30-8 on a dunk by Brown with 3:45 remaining.
The Blue Hose played UCLA evenly the rest of the half to trail 41-19 at the break. UCLA shot 51.7 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes, while Presbyterian shot 21.2 percent.
--Field Level Media
Presbyterian | UCLA | |
Adam Flagler 29 | Scoring | Jaylen Hands 19 |
Davon Bell 8 | Assists | Jaylen Hands 3 |
Cory Hightower 7 | Rebounds | Jalen Hill 20 |
Adam Flagler 4 | Free Throws Made | Jalen Hill 5 |
Francois Lewis 3 | Steals | Jaylen Hands 2 |
Francois Lewis 1 | Blocks | Cody Riley 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Presbyterian | 65 | 31.7 | 13-45 | 12-18 | 14 | 31 | 2 | 12 | 12 |
UCLA | 80 | 44.4 | 8-24 | 16-21 | 12 | 50 | 4 | 5 | 21 |