Pac-12 Networks - UCLA men's basketball defeats Southern Utah 76-61 on Monday evening in Westwood to move to 4-0 for the second straight season. Junior guard Chris Smith finished with a career-high 20 points against the Thunderbirds; Smith has scored in double-figures in all four of UCLA's contests this year. Defensively the Bruins' continue to wreak havoc as they tallied a season-high 10 blocks – most blocks in a game since 2013. Download the Pac-12 Now app today to make sure you never miss a moment of the action.
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Game recap from uclabruins.com
LOS ANGELES – Junior Chris Smith scored a career-high 20 points as the UCLA men's basketball team defeated Southern Utah, 76-61, Monday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
The game was played as part of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational mainland schedule, a precursor to tournament play in Lahaina next week (at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui).
UCLA (4-0) registered its fourth consecutive win, backed by double-digit scoring efforts from sophomore Jalen Hill (17 points) and senior Prince Ali (10 points), in addition to Smith's career-high 20 points.
UCLA led 25-6 midway through the first half and maintained a 35-22 advantage at halftime.
"I'm a big believer in if we pick a way we're going to defend a team, we're pretty gameplan specific, and we followed the gameplan early in the game from a defensive standpoint," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Once we got a big lead, our mind wasn't on defense anymore. We weren't locked in defensively, and we've got to grow up to where we can be locked in for extended periods of time if we're going to be a good team."
Hill and Cody Riley each totaled eight rebounds and three blocked shots for the Bruins. In fact, Riley finished with a career-high three blocks. As a team, the Bruins turned away a season-high 10 shots.
Freshman guard Tyger Campbell recorded a season-best three steals, while Ali added three of his own. The Bruins matched their season high with 11 steals on Monday evening.
UCLA never trailed the visiting Thunderbirds in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Southern Utah (2-2) faced a deficit of 10 points or more over the final 33 minutes and 55 seconds of the game.
The Bruins used a 13-0 scoring run, distancing themselves from SUU early in the first half. The Thunderbirds missed 10 of their first 11 shots. The Bruins' lead increased to as many as 19 points during the first half, with UCLA scoring 12 points off six turnovers by Southern Utah.
UCLA had opened a 25-6 cushion in the first 14 minutes of the game.
Smith scored a dozen more points in the second half, and UCLA saw its lead reach a game-high 20 points (67-47) with 4:11 to play. Smith's career-best scoring total marked the second time in as many games he accomplished that feat (his 16 points last Friday against UNLV were a then-career high).
In all, 11 Bruins saw action in the non-conference contest, and nine of those players scored at least two points. Redshirt freshman Shareef O'Neal scored the first five points of his collegiate career.
John Knight III led Southern Utah with 14 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Harrison Butler (13 points), Cameron Oluyitan (11) and Dwayne Morgan (10) also scored in double figures for the Thunderbirds.
UCLA will return to action against Hofstra this Thursday night. Game time is 8 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
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