No. 22 UCLA erupted for a 35-0 run and the Bruins cruised to a 114-63 rout of North Florida in their home opener on Friday in Los Angeles.
With the Bruins (2-0) trailing 18-17 midway through the first half, Nikola Kusturica connected on three consecutive 3-pointers to ignite the overwhelming run.
UCLA held the Ospreys (1-1) scoreless for almost nine minutes. JR Bartelus scored shortly before halftime to end the drought, but by then, the Bruins had the game well in hand.
Kusturica led all scorers with 29 points, shooting 10-of-12 from the floor. He finished 4 of 6 from 3-point range, leading four Bruins in hitting multiple triples.
Kusturica, Jaylen Petty, Trent Perry and Joe Philon III accounted for UCLA’s 14-of-29 shooting from beyond the arc. The quartet and Eric Dailey Jr. all scored in double figures.
Petty finished with 22 points, shooting 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. Philon, who was a perfect 3-for-3 from outside, scored 17 points off the bench.
Perry and Dailey each added 11 points. Dailey also hauled in nine rebounds, contributing to UCLA’s 49-34 advantage on the glass.
The Bruins held the Ospreys to just 20-of-62 shooting from the floor. Kent Jackson, who scored a team-high 11, shot 3 of 6 from long range for North Florida.
BJ Plummer and Eddie Placer added 10 points each for the Ospreys.
While shooting only 32.3% from the floor and 65% (13-for-20) at the free-throw line, North Florida also committed 17 turnovers that UCLA converted into 28 points. Philon’s five steals set the tone.
The Bruins also successfully dictated the tempo, leveraging their takeaways to score 22 fast-break points. North Florida did not score a fast-break point in the game.