LOS ANGELES – The No. 19-ranked UCLA men’s basketball team cruised a dominant 79-48 victory over Sacramento State in a nonconference game on Tuesday evening inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.
Four Bruins reached double figures as UCLA (4-1) rolled past Sacramento State (3-3), highlighted by Eric Dailey Jr.’s 15-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench. Dailey Jr. also chipped in four assists and was efficient across the board, hitting 5-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the foul line in his 30 minutes of action.
Dailey Jr. poured in 13 of his 15 points after halftime to lead the Bruins’ offense.
The Bruins shot 48.3 percent as a team while locking down defensively, limiting the Hornets to just 24.1 percent shooting.
Xavier Booker added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench, Trent Perry drilled two threes on his way to 11 points, and Jamar Brown delivered a steady 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
The Bruins opened with a commanding 13-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back transition layups from Brown and a four-point play from Perry. UCLA converted five of its first seven attempts from the field while holding the Hornets scoreless for more than five minutes, forcing two turnovers and rejecting a pair of shots during the stretch.
Sacramento State started the contest with nine consecutive misses before finally connecting for its first made basket at the 13:55 mark in the first half.
UCLA used another quick 7-0 burst to push its advantage to 22-4 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half.
Perry paced all scorers with 11 first-half points, guiding the Bruins to a 42-17 lead at the break. UCLA closed the period on a 17-5 run over the final 8:19 to stretch the margin to 25 points at halftime. Defensively, the Bruins limited the visitors to just 21.7 percent shooting (5-of-23) while forcing 11 turnovers that translated into 21 points on the other end.
The Hornets opened the second half with a 9-0 run, holding UCLA scoreless for the first four minutes. The Bruins regained momentum behind consecutive layups from Donovan Dent to push the margin back over 20, and eight straight points from Dailey Jr. reestablished a 25-point advantage with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Eric Freeny added a pair of baskets in the closing stages to push the margin past 30.
In the closing minutes, Jack Seidler, Anthony Peoples Jr., and Christian Horry made their season debuts, with Seidler knocking down a jumper for UCLA’s final points of the night.
UCLA will remain at home for its next matchup, welcoming Presbyterian to Pauley Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 21 with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. (PT) The contest will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network.
