The UCLA men’s basketball team, ranked No. 12, won its preseason exhibition game against San Diego State with a score of 67-60 at Viejas Arena on Friday evening.
Donovan Dent led the Bruins with 18 points, while Skyy Clark contributed 13 points and Trent Perry added 10. The Bruins began the game strongly, establishing a 17-0 lead before San Diego State managed to narrow the gap to four points late in the second half. UCLA responded by extending their lead back to nine points with under five minutes remaining and maintained control for the rest of the game.
UCLA shot 40.8 percent from the field, making seven out of seventeen three-point attempts and converting twenty out of twenty-three free throws. The team also recorded thirteen steals from six different players and forced twenty-one turnovers against San Diego State.
San Diego State’s Reese Dixon-Waters scored a game-high nineteen points, including three three-pointers. Taj DeGourville was the only other Aztec in double figures with ten points, while Miles Heide led all players with seven rebounds.
At halftime, UCLA held a sixteen-point advantage after scoring the first seventeen points of the contest. Skyy Clark led his team in first-half scoring with eleven points on five-of-eight shooting.
UCLA will play its next exhibition game at home against UC Irvine on Tuesday, October 28 at Pauley Pavilion. The regular season begins Monday, November 3 when UCLA hosts Eastern Washington at Pauley Pavilion.
“UCLA took to the road in its first of two preseason exhibition games on Friday. The Bruins never trailed against San Diego State, leading 17-0 early in the game before the host Aztecs cut UCLA’s cushion down to four points – at 52-49, with 7:36 to play in the game.”
“The Bruins, leading by just three points, bumped their advantage back up to nine points – at 60-51 – with just under five minutes to play. From that point in the second half, UCLA’s lead was never in doubt. The Bruins twice led by as many as 11 points in the final 3:30 of the game.”
“UCLA had three players who scored in double figures – Donovan Dent with 18 points, Skyy Clark with 13, and Trent Perry with 10. As a team, the Bruins shot 40.8 percent (20-for-49), made 7 of 17 attempts from 3-point distance and nailed 20 of 23 free throw attempts.”
“San Diego State’s Reese Dixon-Waters scored a game-high 19 points, sinking 3 of 8 attempts from 3-point territory. Taj DeGourville finished with 10 points as SDSU’s only other player to register double-figure scoring. Miles Heide had a game-leading seven rebounds for the Aztecs.”
“UCLA registered thirteen steals from six different players. Dent and Jamar Brown each had three steals, while Clark, Perry and Steven Jamerson II had a pair of steals.”
“In all, the Bruins registered twenty-one turnovers against San Diego State.”
“UCLA led at halftime, thirty-nine to twenty-three after having raced to an early seventeen-to-zero lead. The Bruins scored the game’s first seventeen points through the first seven-plus minutes.”
“Leading twelve-to-zero after a three-point basket by Jamar Brown, UCLA followed with a bucket from Jamerson II at the thirteen-forty mark and a three-pointer from Brandon Williams with twelve-forty-four left in the half.”
“San Diego State got on the board sinking a three-point shot from Sean Newman Jr., with twelve-seventeen remaining.”
“San Diego State reduced UCLA’s early cushion to eleven points at twenty-one-ten with seven-eleven to play before halftime.”
“From that point UCLA closed outscoring San Diego State eighteen-thirteen.”
“Clark led UCLA with eleven points in the first half sinking five-of-eight shots from field.”
“UCLA will play its second preseason exhibition game at home against UC Irvine on Tuesday October twenty-eighth Game time is seven p.m inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.”
“UCLA’s regular season will get underway on Monday November third as Bruins host Eastern Washington at Pauley Pavilion Game time that night is set for seven-thirty p.m Pacific Time.”
