UCLA Men's Basketball Dominates UNC Asheville to Open March Madness

A balanced scoring effort and a heroic relief performance from Kenneth Nwuba helped the Bruins bury the Bulldogs from the opening tip.

The Bruins weren't going to get sent home by UNC again.

Of course, No. 2 seed UCLA men's basketball (30-5, 18-2 Pac-12) wasn't playing the North Carolina Tar Heels, who knocked them out of the 2022 NCAA tournament in the Sweet 16. Instead, the Bruins were opening up their latest March Madness journey against No. 15 seed UNC Asheville (27-8, 16-2 Big South) in Sacramento on Thursday.

UCLA started the first round game on a 14-0 run, and never looked back en route to a 86-53 victory.

It was quite the departure from their Pac-12 rivals' trip to the state capital, as No. 2 seed Arizona lost 59-55 to No. 15 seed Princeton on the same court a few hours earlier. The Bruins weren't going to flirt with a similar upset Thursday night, and UCLA made sure the result was never in doubt.

When sharpshooter David Singleton slashed to the rim for a reverse layup on the opening possession, it became clear that the Bruins were going to have the upper hand Thursday.

It took less than two minutes for UCLA to go up 9-0, and big man Kenneth Nwuba made it 11-0 soon after on his second slam dunk of the night. Singleton drilled a corner 3-pointer to make it a 14-point run and force a Bulldogs timeout.

Guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. nearly extended that opening advantage with a steal and fast break opportunity, but he turned it over himself and UNC Asheville finally hit some free throws to get on the scoreboard. Jaquez's second-straight turnover led to a 3-pointer by the Bulldogs, although that got wiped out when Nwuba and guard Amari Bailey hit open layups.

Less than five minutes into the game, Nwuba had already set his career high in points, and he had exceeded the five total points he had scored across his previous 19 appearances. The fifth-year big man from Nigeria was starting in place of Adem Bona, who was still dealing with the left shoulder injury he suffered in the Pac-12 tournament on March 10.

Nwuba was helping out on the boards as well, tipping a loose ball out to Bailey, who found Singleton for a straightaway second-chance triple. A Dylan Andrews and-1 and a Bailey jumper put the Bruins up by 19 points midway through the first half, then Nwuba got back in on the action to push the lead over 20 with a post hook.

Jaquez had been behind his typical scoring pace to that points, but he wound up leading UCLA with 14 points at the break thanks to a late explosion. The Bruins went into the locker room up 46-25, with 22 of their points coming off of turnovers.

UCLA's lead reached 26 a few minutes into the second half, and the Bruins weathered a brief UNC Asheville run to get it back over 20 on some Nwuba free throws and a layup by guard Will McClendon.

The Bulldogs were unable to get the deficit to less than 20 for the rest of the night, as the blue and gold continued to pour it on. UCLA went on a 19-5 run, which was highlighted by some second-chance buckets, a few fast break layups and a Mac Etienne slam dunk.

A paint jumper from Bailey helped the Bruins go up by 33, which was the largest lead held by any team throughout the first day of March Madness action.

UCLA was able to go with a lineup consisting almost entirely of freshmen and redshirt freshman for the final seven minutes. Etienne was able to rack up the touches down low in that time, finishing the night with a season-high 10 points.

Walk-ons Russell Stong and Logan Cremonesi even got their time to shine, checking in with 1:46 remaining. The latter reeled in an offensive rebound, which he turned into an assist by finding guard/forward Abramo Canka for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.

Stong missed his lone 3-point attempt, but he secured a defensive rebound and dribbled out the clock. Those were his first NCAA tournament stats across his five seasons in Westwood.

Jaquez led UCLA with 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Bailey also scored 17 with six assists and three steals, while Campbell dished out 10 dimes to go along with his seven points.

Singleton chipped in with 11 points, and Nwuba and Etienne dropped 10 apiece. The Bruins won virtually every statistical battle, never letting the Bulldogs even come close to competing.

UCLA will face No. 7 seed Northwestern in the Round of 32 back in Sacramento on Saturday at 5:40 p.m. PST. The game will be televised on TNT.

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