Long Beach State Guards Joel Murray and Colin Slater put on a show that suggested they had an angry offer in mind. Perhaps the quick, savvy guards, who totaled 57 points, could catch UCLA on a hanging Monday night after the exhilaration of victory over fourth-placed Villanova wore off on Friday night and a matchup with first-placed Gonzaga was just a week away.
But the runner-up Bruins took control in the second half and ran away with a 100-79 win to end a three-game season opener home at the Pauley Pavilion.
Johnny Juzang led UCLA with 25 points in the 11-of-21 shooting. Jules Bernard scored 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 36 minutes. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points, Tyger Campbell had 14 points and six assists, and Jaylen Clark added 10 points and six rebounds.
Murray finished the game with a game high of 30 points (and nine of his team’s 25 turnovers), and Slater scored 27 in 10-of-13, including five 3-pointers.
The Bruins’ narrow 48-45 lead at halftime rose to 14 points after starting the second half with a 16-5 run. Their suffocating defense, which did not seem to be used in the first half, could be seen at half time. UCLA forced Long Beach to flip the ball on 14 of its 25 possession in the second half, making 78 shots on LBSU’s 55 for the night.
The Bruins were leading 78-62 after a layup by Jaquez Jr. at the 10-minute mark in the second half. UCLA until at least 12 noon the rest of the night.
Long Beach (1-1) certainly offered a very different challenge than its Big West companion Cal State Bakersfield – who lost to UCLA 95-58 last week – and Murray and Slater were the ones who faced that challenge the first half presented.
Murray scored 28 points in the Long Beach season opener last week so his production was somewhat expected, but it was Slater’s performance that left fans at the Pauley Pavilion gasping for breath. Slater made six straight shots, including three 3-pointers.
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It was part of a 12-0 run for Long Beach and a distance of 10 consecutive shots. UCLA’s 23-16 lead turned into a 28-23 deficit, 7:16 in the first half. Campbell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help UCLA regain the lead, 31-28, but Slater hit Bernard again with a blow-by layup to get the score at 36-36 at 3rd : 51 mark to establish.
Juzang was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 22 points and six rebounds per game in the Bruins’ first two games, including a 25 point performance and 8 rebounds in beating the fourth placed Villanova on Friday evening 86-77 in overtime.
It is the second time that Juzang has earned the honor in his career. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on February 15, 2021. Juzang was the only UCLA player to win the Player of the Week award last season.
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