UCLA Defeats Bellarmine, 75-62

LAS VEGAS – Peyton Watson and David Singleton combined for 32 points off the bench on Monday night, as the No. 2-ranked UCLA men's basketball team defeated Bellarmine, 75-62, in the Good Sam Empire Classic at T-Mobile Arena.
 
Watson finished with a season-high 19 points, connecting on 9 of 12 shots, in his fifth collegiate game.
 
Singleton and Johnny Juzang each finished with 13 points for UCLA (5-0). Singleton made 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point distance, while Juzang sank 3 of 6 attempts from long range.
 
Dylan Penn scored a team-leading 19 points for Bellarmine (0-5).

Coach Cronin, Postgame | P. Watson, Postgame
 
UCLA led Bellarmine at halftime, 36-25. The Bruins used a 9-0 scoring run to open the second half, before Singleton drained his third 3-point basket of the game. That put the Bruins ahead by a 52-29 margin, UCLA's largest lead of the game.
 
Bellarmine responded with an 11-4 scoring run, making six of eight shots and hitting all five free throws in a stretch to close the gap to 10 points – at 66-56, with 2:19 to play.
 
Myles Johnson, who finished with nine points and 11 rebounds, received a lob from Tyger Campbell and powered home a dunk to help seal the victory in the game's final two minutes. Johnson finished Monday night's game with his second double-digit rebound effort of the season.
 
In the first half, UCLA overcame an early 4-0 deficit with a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Juzang – at the 18:05 and 16:21 marks – to lead, 6-4. UCLA's bench scored 23 of the team's next 30 points, as the Bruins secured a 36-25 lead by halftime.
 
Watson had nine points in the first half, connecting on 4-of-4 shots from the field before halftime.
 
Monday's game marked the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between UCLA and Bellarmine.
 
The Bruins will return to action against No. 1-ranked Gonzaga on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Game time on Tuesday is scheduled for 7 p.m., in the Good Sam Empire Classic at T-Mobile Arena. UCLA's game will be nationally televised on ESPN.