UCLA Bruins Dominate California Golden Bears at Haas Pavilion
The UCLA Bruins, ranked 7th, secured a commanding victory over the California Golden Bears with a final score of 78-58. The Bruins' season record now stands at an impressive 7-2, while the Golden Bears fell to a less fortunate 5-4.
From the opening quarter, the Bruins set the tone with an 18-11 lead and maintained their dominance throughout the game. The second quarter saw them slightly outscored by three points but they quickly regained control in the third quarter adding another 21 points to their tally against the Golden Bears' 18. In a decisive fourth quarter, UCLA outdid themselves by scoring an additional 25 points sealing their victory.
UCLA's offense was on full display as they shot an efficient 48 percent from the field and an outstanding 92 percent from the free-throw line. Their three-point shooting was also notable with a solid performance of making nine out of nineteen attempts which translates to a commendable accuracy rate of about 47 percent.
Defensively, UCLA managed to keep pressure on California resulting in six steals and forcing a total of sixteen turnovers from which they capitalized by scoring twenty-eight points off turnovers. Moreover, despite not recording any blocks during this matchup, they limited their own turnovers to twelve.
The team's rebounding efforts were strong as well; pulling down thirty-two rebounds - seventeen defensive and eight offensive - supplemented by seven team rebounds. This effort was highlighted by ten second-chance points that kept possessions alive and added pressure on California's defense.
On individual performances for UCLA, there were no foul outs or ejections indicating disciplined play throughout. Assists were distributed effectively among players totaling seventeen assists which contributed significantly towards maintaining an assist-to-turnover ratio above one at approximately one point five-five.
In contrast, while California had two blocks and managed fifty-nine percent shooting for two-pointers better than UCLA’s forty-nine percent; it wasn't enough to overcome their overall lower field goal percentage of forty-four percent or compensate for their poor three-point shooting rate of around twenty percent.
Looking ahead for fans eager to follow their team's progress: The next game will see UCLA Bruins visiting Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion located in Stanford CA on February fourth scheduled for one o'clock PM Pacific Time broadcasted nationally on ESPN2 channel two hundred nine.