No. 2 UCLA blows out North Florida
LOS ANGELES — On a team talented enough that anybody can score, UCLA is still working on its defense.
The second-ranked Bruins knew coach Mick Cronin was unhappy with their effort in a blowout win two nights earlier. They responded with another one-sided victory and this time they defended better.
Although not quite enough to completely satisfy Cronin.
“I’m never happy,” he said.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and Johnny Juzang added 17 in a 98-63 rout of North Florida on Wednesday night.
Tyger Campbell had 13 points, making all four of his 3-pointers, and had six rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in 26 minutes for the Bruins (4-0). Jules Bernard scored 15 points.
“This summer I really worked on it,” Campbell said of his long-range shooting. “Coach has told me he has confidence in me and just tells me to go. He trusts me for the shots I take.”
UCLA notched its third blowout win of the season, having beaten Cal State Bakersfield by 37 points and Long Beach State by 21.
“They tried to force us to play half-court defense,” Cronin said. “Tonight was great practice for us.”
Carter Hendricksen scored 11 points to lead North Florida (0-5) as its only player in double figures.
The Ospreys kept it close in the first 10 minutes. Although they never led and once fell behind by nine, they got to 27-24 on a basket by Jonathan Aybar.
That’s when the Bruins took over for good.
UCLA closed the half on a 28-9 run, including 15 straight points, to lead 55-33 at the break. Juzang made a 3-pointer, Kenneth Nwuba dunked and Jaylen Clark scored inside during a spurt that featured points from five different players.
“That says a lot about our team and how unselfish we are as a group,” Jaquez said. “We’re all going to share the ball and get the shots we’re going to get.”
Jaquez came off the bench just before the decisive run began. Peyton Watson stole the ball from Jose Placer and hit Jaquez with a long pass that led to a fast-break dunk. Jaquez followed with a 3-pointer before he scored the Bruins’ final two baskets of the half.
The Bruins ran off 11 points in a row — five by Bernard and four from Jaquez — to open the second half and build a 30-point lead. Bernard’s driving layup gave UCLA its largest lead of 33 with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
“We were just preaching defense, defense, defense,” Campbell said. “Our defense led to some offensive opportunities.”
The Bruins dominated nearly every category, controlling the boards 54-24, including a whopping 24-6 edge on the offensive glass. They hadn’t had that many offensive boards since grabbing 25 against Southern California on Jan. 19, 2008. UCLA owned the paint 5030 and had a 30-6 advantage in second-chance points to go with eight steals.