Men's Basketball Takes Down Long Beach State, 93-69
LOS ANGELES – Tyger Campbell scored 18 points and Jaylen Clark added 16 points as the No. 8 UCLA men's basketball team defeated Long Beach State, 93-69, before 9,811 fans in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Friday evening.
UCLA (2-0) secured their second win in five days, shooting nearly 47 percent from the field in the non-conference victory.
David Singleton knocked down 4 of 8 attempts from 3-point range, finishing with 14 points and a team-high and career-best nine rebounds. He finished Friday's game with three assists, two steals and no turnovers.
"To me, the star of the game was Dave," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "No turnovers. Led us in rebounding. Led us in no bad shots."
"Dave started his sophomore year on that team [in 2019-20] that won 11 of 14 and almost won the Pac-12, his first year," Cronin continued. "I've never seen a team insert a guy into the lineup and turn their entire season around when we did that. He's just a selfless guy. Obviously, he's just an elite shooter."
Amari Bailey totaled 14 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. registered 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two assists to round out UCLA's list of double-figures scorers.
Campbell, who entered Friday's game having scored 996 career points, became the 60th UCLA player to have reached the 1,000-career-point milestone in a Bruins' uniform. He nailed a 3-pointer with 14:17 to play in the first half, less than 20 seconds after hitting a driving layup, to cross the 1,000-point milestone.
Long Beach State's Lassina Traore finished with a team-leading 14 points and tallied seven rebounds.
Other than an early 8-2 deficit, UCLA controlled the game from the first half's 15-minute mark through the remainder of regulation. UCLA led the game by as many as 21 points in the first half. After a pair of free throws by Mac Etienne, Bailey knocked down a jump shot at the 5:18 mark, helping put the Bruins ahead of Long Beach State, 39-18.
The Bruins led 41-26 late in the first half before David Singleton hit a free throw and subsequently nailed a 3-pointer (with 2:06 remaining). That 3-point basket put the Bruins on top, 45-26.
UCLA led the game at halftime by a 48-33 margin.
The Bruins added to their lead in the second half, securing a 29-point cushion with just under eight minutes to play. Clark made a driving layup at the 7:58 mark, putting UCLA ahead, 77-49. He drew a foul on the play and made the free throw to give the Bruins a 29-point advantage.
Long Beach State used a 15-6 scoring run in the game's final minutes to cut UCLA's cushion to 20 points – at 84-64 with 3:36 left in the contest.
UCLA will return to action against Norfolk State (2-1) on Monday, Nov. 14, in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is 7 p.m. (PT). That contest will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
Next Monday's game will mark the final home contest of a three-game homestand for UCLA. Following the game against Norfolk State, the Bruins will prepare for two games in Las Vegas (to be played at T-Mobile Arena), in the 2022 Continental Tire Main Event. UCLA will face Illinois on Friday, Nov. 18, before squaring off against either Baylor or Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 20.
Game Notes: David Singleton has made 7 of 11 shots from 3-point range (63.6 percent) to open the 2022-23 basketball season … as a team, UCLA has shot 15 for 35 (42.9 percent) from 3-point territory through the first two games … Jaylen Clark finished Friday's game with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals – which brings his season steals tally to a team-leading 11 (he totaled seven steals on Monday against Sacramento State) … Clark has averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the Bruins' first two contests … UCLA improved its all-time record against Long Beach State to 20-1.