Before a single minute passed, sophomore guard Chris Smith fumbled a fast-break pass with no one within five feet of him.
Later in the first half, redshirt junior guard Prince Ali airballed a trail 3-pointer on another fast-break possession.
Yet despite a multitude of miscues, UCLA men’s basketball (10-7, 3-1 Pac-12) only trailed 36-33 to USC (9-8, 2-2) at halftime.
The Bruins and the Trojans combined for 20 turnovers in a first half marked by both teams racing downcourt, only to reverse halfway because of another change in possession.
UCLA particularly struggled to convert on its opponent’s turnovers. Sophomore guard Jaylen Hands nearly airballed a wing 3-pointer on a 2-on-1 fast break with four minutes remaining in the first half. As a team, the Bruins only shot 1-of-9 from behind the arc in the first half.
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes led UCLA with 11 points, and Hands added 10.
Moses Brown struggled in his first taste of the crosstown rivalry. The freshman center missed both his field goal attempts and all four of his free throws, and sat on the bench for the final eight minutes of the period after picking up his second foul.