The Bruins couldn’t buy a basket, but neither could the Golden Bears.
UCLA men’s basketball (12-12, 5-6 Pac-12) trails California (5-18, 0-11) 34-25 at halftime after the two teams combined to shoot 30.1 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes Wednesday night.
The Bruins missed their first nine attempts from the floor, and did not score until the 14:57 mark. UCLA finished the half shooting a porous 14 percent from beyond the arc and 28 percent overall.
Cal, however, struggled just as badly on the offensive end. The Golden Bears scored the game’s first seven points, but were unable to capitalize on the Bruins’ cold shooting, letting their early lead slip to just 20-19 later in the half after a 9-0 UCLA run.
Cal responded by scoring 14 of the next 20 points to take a seven-point lead into the break.
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes led the Bruins in scoring with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting. He also hauled in four rebounds in his 16 minutes of action.
Redshirt freshman forward Jalen Hill and sophomore guard Jaylen Hands each added five points as well.