Release: Wednesday 12/10/2014
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LOS ANGELES - Tony Parker had a double-double with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to help lift the UCLA basketball team past UC Riverside, 77-66, on Wednesday evening in Pauley Pavilion.
Norman Powell finished with a game-high 20 points for UCLA (8-2), which improved its home record to 7-0.
Currently riding a four-game win streak, UCLA now looks toward a pivotal non-conference meeting against No. 9-ranked Gonzaga (8-1) this Saturday at 7 p.m. (PT) in Pauley Pavilion.
“We have a nationally-ranked top 10 team coming in Saturday, and our guys waited a long time to play a ranked opponent,” UCLA head coach Steve Alford said after Wednesday’s win. “We’ve got them in our building, so we’ve got to play well.”
Against visiting UC Riverside (5-4), the Bruins trailed throughout the first half. The Highlanders entered halftime with a 34-28 advantage before Powell helped UCLA come roaring back.
Powell, a senior guard from San Diego, ignited UCLA’s offense, scoring seven of the team’s first nine points after the break to reduce UC Riverside’s cushion to one point (38-37). Bryce Alford nailed a 3-pointer with 16:01 to play, giving UCLA a 42-41 lead, the Bruins’ first advantage since leading 2-0 in the opening minute.
UC Riverside had five players who scored in double figures. Steven Thornton led the Highlanders with 15 points, while Taylor Johns finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
“We did not play particularly well in the first half, and I thought in the second half we played with a little more toughness and a little more energy,” Steve Alford said. “Lessons learned – we’ve got to do that for 40 minutes.”
Bryce Alford had 16 points and eight assists, while Kevon Looney logged his seventh double-double in 10 games (12 points, 11 rebounds). Both Alford and Looney have scored in double figures in all 10 games for UCLA this season.
Isaac Hamilton rounded out UCLA’s list of five players scoring in double figures, totaling 11 points.
“We had a lot of stress on the defensive end, and I don’t know why we were so stagnant in the first half,” Steve Alfordsaid. “We didn't get many shots up. They had 21 more shots than we did. That’s not characteristic of what we want. We’ll see if that's a trend. I hope it’s not.”
After opening the second half with a 19-5 scoring run to lead, 47-41, at the 15:04 mark, UCLA was unable to completely pull away from UC Riverside. The Highlanders never trailed by more than 10 points and reduced UCLA’s margin to 59-55 on a 3-pointer from Steven Jones with 6:57 to play.
UC Riverside followed with a pair of free throws from Thornton to cut UCLA’s advantage to 59-57 with 6:10 remaining.
The Bruins followed with an 8-0 scoring spurt, taking advantage of an old-fashioned 3-point play from Alford (5:08) before sinking all three free throw shots just 41 seconds later.
UCLA twice stretched its lead to 10 points in the game’s final three minutes.
The Bruins will play their final home game before the New Year this Saturday against Gonzaga. Game time is 7 p.m. (PT). Saturday’s contest will be nationally televised by ESPN2, with Dave Pasch and Dick Vitale on the call in Westwood.
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