Momentous Run Helps UCLA Men's Basketball Defeat Sacramento State

Without one of their key freshmen, it was the upperclassmen who powered the Bruins to a big win Monday night.

UCLA men's basketball (1-0) cruised to a 76-50 season-opening victory over Sacramento State (0-1) at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins' four most experienced players were the engine to their offense in the game, lifting their team to their 20th consecutive win in front of their home crowd.

Guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., point guard Tyger Campbell, guard David Singleton and guard Jaylen Clark – who had played in 380 collegiate games between them entering the game – scored 58 of UCLA's first 68 points on a combined 25-of-36 shooting. Even UCLA's next most experienced player, redshirt senior big man Kenneth Nwuba, added four points on 2-of-2 shooting himself.

The Bruins found themselves in a couple holes early on, and they leaned on their superstar seniors to dig them out both times.

UCLA started down 2-0 and went nearly two minutes without scoring, until Jaquez flew up the floor for a transition dunk to get his team on the board. The veteran wing scored the Bruins' first six points of the game, hitting his first three shot attempts from the field.

The two sides wound up locked at 10-7 for nearly three whole minutes, thanks in part to big man Mac Etienne missing a standing dunk in his first game action since tearing his ACL in October 2021.

Etienne was not expected to play Monday, but he was forced into the lineup when five-star freshman Adem Bona was ruled ineligible by the NCAA hours before tip-off. The Hornets tried to take advantage of the Bruins' unforseen post rotation, rattling off an 8-0 run by going straight at the bigs underneath the basket.

All of a sudden, UCLA trailed 16-12. Coming out of a timeout, though, Sacramento State missed the and-1 free throw and Campbell weaved his way through the defense on the other end before sinking a fallaway floater.

Campbell drilled an open 3-pointer the next time down, and the Bruins had once again claimed the lead. After Clark forced a held ball under the hoop, Jaquez scored on the out-of-bounds play to extend the lead.

That sparked a 20-0 run for UCLA in a six-minute span, with Etienne, Nwuba, Clark and Singleton all aiding Jaquez and Campbell on both ends of the floor. The Bruins started the game 6-of-16 from the field, then continued to go 12-of-16 between then and halftime.

Etienne got his feet under him defensively as well, blocking three shots and adding a steal in the first half alone.

UCLA went into the break up 39-25, led by Jaquez, Campbell and Singleton's 29 points. Things stayed relatively steady early in the second half, with Sacramento State only managing to close the gap to 11 when Jaquez was incorrectly called for goaltending after blocking guard Zach Chappel from behind on the fast break.

Clark settled things down with a bucket on the next possession, and then he stole he inbounds pass and hit both his free throws to fully halt the Hornets' momentum.

The Bruins were stuck at 47 points for 2:30 of game time, but that cold streak was snapped when Singleton drilled his third 3-pointer to make it a 9-2 run.

That's when Clark really came alive to put things away for good, spinning into floaters and draining corner 3s while continuing to be a defensive pest. Many of Clark's big defensive plays didn't show up on the box score, as he set his teammates up for steals of their own and routinely forced misses on the perimeter, helping to hold Sacramento State to 35% shooting from the field and 11% from beyond the arc.

Smiling through it all, Clark led the Bruins with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven steals.

Clark – who shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 from the line and 1-of-1 from deep – earned a standing ovation when he finally checked out with three minutes to go. From there, freshman guard Amari Bailey scored eight of UCLA's final 13 points, including a fast break dunk off a flashy pass from freshman guard Dylan Andrews in the final seconds that helped the Bruins narrowly cover the 25.5-point spread.

Jaquez and Campbell scored 14 points each, while Singleton put up 13 thanks to his three 3-pointers and 5-of-6 shooting overall. Bailey was the fifth player to break double figures, scoring 10 in his collegiate debut.

UCLA will return to action Friday night against Long Beach State, with that game set to tip off at 8 p.m.

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