Westwood, CA – The crowd jumped to feet after perfect alley-op to Lonzo Ball followed by a Bryce Alford crippling three pointer with 2:06 left to play and 30 point lead.
UCLA flexed its muscle in the second half behind 44 points in the paint to defeat USC 102-70.
The leading scorer was Alford with 26 points, 5/9 for 3pt range, while TJ Leaf scored 19 points, and Thomas Welsh 16 points with 16 rebounds.
UCLA was ran out of the gym when these team last met at Galen Center losing to USC 84-76. Their two big men didn’t bring it like they did tonight. A few key turnovers in last minute made the score appear respectable.
“Our guys played well tonight,” said head coach Steve Alford, “We have continued to grow defensively.”
The Bruins played both sides of the court tonight with five players in double figures, 6 blocks, and 5 steals as a team.
All three Ball brothers were in Pauley Pavilion tonight, the younger ones watched the game with their entire Chino Hills teammates. Big brother didn’t disappoint them scoring 15 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and few monster dunks as explanation points on the victory.
USC was lead by Bennie Boatwright with 20 points, going 8/8 from the free throw line and 10 rebounds. Chimezie Metu scored 14 points and only 6 rebounds.
The UCLA Bruins really played well today inside and out for a complete game hitting their stride at the right time.
UCLA still leads the All-Time series 138 – 108 and with their 23-3 record is ranked No. 5 in the country. The Bruins will play 3 of 5 remaining games at Pauley, that can help build momentum before PAC-12 Tournament in Las Vegas next month.
Both teams will hit the road next week to face Arizona and Arizona State before returning home.
