On one play, two Bruins set milestones.
Curling around a screen, sophomore guard Jordan Adams grabbed a pass from sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson, took a few steps to the rim and laid the ball in off the glass. The bucket gave Adams his 28th point of the night – a new career high – and gave Anderson his 10th assist of the game, giving him his first career triple-double.
But the basket also provided UCLA men’s basketball with some insurance points in a game that was anything but a sure win for the Bruins. Staving off a relentless Morehead State comeback, UCLA held on to get an 81-70 win Friday night in front of a crowd of 5,508 at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA’s double-digit margin of victory was not indicative of how close the game was, particularly early on.
When Morehead State’s junior guard Angelo Warner hit a 3-pointer at the 14:09 mark in the first half to put his team up 18-17, UCLA looked like it could be in for a long night. Five minutes later, the Bruins looked on their way to making short work of the Eagles.
No. 22 UCLA went on a 20-2 run in a span of less than five minutes to jump ahead 37-20, spurred by freshman guard Zach LaVine, who converted on a tomahawk dunk off an alley-oop and connected on a pair of 3-pointers. Coach Steve Alford credited the energy of LaVine and the rest of his reserves, as the Bruins (4-0) finished with a season-high 26 bench points.
“(The bench) gave us emotion, they got out and did a lot of good things. … I thought the first half they gave us a lot of momentum because we got stops and threw the ball ahead and we got some easy shots,” Alford said.
But a shaky final nine minutes of the half, which saw Morehead State (4-2) outscore UCLA 18-9, made for a tightly contested game in the second half.
As the Bruins struggled to stay afloat in the second half with the Eagles quickly cutting their deficit to just three points, Adams kept UCLA’s head above water. Adams was the only Bruin able to find the bottom of the net with any consistency, scoring 17 of his 30 points in the second period.
UCLA kept control of the lead, but Morehead State had control of the tempo in the second half. The Bruins lead fluctuated, but Adams’ energy and scoring kept the Eagles from getting closer than three points.
As the time on the clock ticked down, Anderson’s play picked up. Fighting his way to the free-throw line and hustling for rebounds, Anderson secured a double-double and helped the Bruins push their lead to double digits. But he still needed one more assist for the triple-double. With his dish to Adams, Anderson earned UCLA’s first triple-double since Toby Bailey’s on Dec. 18, 1995 and Adams registered UCLA’s first 30-point game since Tyler Honeycutt scored 33 points against Kansas on Dec. 2, 2010.
Anderson, who finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, said he knew when he reached the landmark.
“I knew at halftime how many I had, but I kinda counted the last few in my head and it added up,” Anderson said.
Adams likewise was aware of his historic night during the game, but downplayed the achievement.
“It’s up there on the board, so once you look at the score you look at everything else,” Adams said. “I just wanted to get the win first.”