At the 13:16 mark of the first half, the Bruins boasted an eight-point lead.

The Bearcats bounced back – and then some.

In its first true road game of the season, UCLA men’s basketball (7-4) lost 93-64 to Cincinnati (10-2) on Wednesday night. The Bearcats responded to the Bruins’ fast start by putting together a 28-4 run of their own, burying the Bruins in their worst lost since Dec. 20, 2014 against Kentucky.

This is UCLA’s second straight loss – the second time this season that the Bruins have lost back-to-back games.

The Bearcats outrebounded the Bruins by 13, outscored them by eight in the paint, and outshot them by 12 percent from the field and 22.5 percent from 3-point range.

UCLA started 7-of-11 from the field, but went 3-of-14 to close out the first half. Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes had 12 points in the first frame, while the rest of the Bruins combined for 19.

Wilkes finished the game with a team-high 21 points.

Heading into halftime, the Bearcats built a 48-31 lead in their second-best offensive half of the season. The only time this year that Cincinnati scored more than 48 points in the first half was against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 27.

The Bearcats’ 93 points were also the second-most the Bruins have allowed all season, and the 29-point lead Cincinnati held was the largest deficit UCLA has seen this year.

Sophomore guard Jaylen Hands dished out a season-high 12 assists, but he went 1-of-5 from the field, with all of his field goal attempts coming from behind the arc.

Freshman center Moses Brown scored two points on 1-of-2 shooting in the first period, but ended the game with 12 points and six rebounds. Redshirt freshman Cody Riley started on the other block and notched an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.

UCLA will head to Chicago to take on No. 15 Ohio State on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic.

 

Published by Sam Connon

Connon is the Sports editor and a writer for the football and men's basketball beats. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, women's golf, men's golf and cross country beats. Connon currently contributes movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment as well. He was previously a reporter for the women's basketball and baseball beats. Connon is a third-year communications major from Winchester, Massachusetts.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *