No. 15 UCLA overcame a slow start with standout guard Donovan Dent sidelined, running past West Georgia in the second half en route to an 83-62 win on Monday in Los Angeles.
The Bruins (3-0) led fledgling NCAA Division I member Wolves (1-2) by just five points at the first media timeout of the second half. UCLA then scored 15 of the next 21 points, punctuated with a Xavier Booker dunk, to open up a 14-point lead by the second media timeout.
The surge continued after the stoppage through a combination of UCLA attacking the rim on offense, with Skyy Clark scoring a layup and Eric Dailey Jr. adding another dunk, and the Bruins holding the Wolves scoreless for almost three minutes.
By the time West Georgia’s Shelton Williams-Dryden stopped the run with a 3-pointer, UCLA had pushed the lead to 20 points.
The Wolves, making their first-ever visit to UCLA, hung with the Bruins for close to 30 minutes of game time behind the combined long-distance shooting of Williams-Dryden, who went 3 of 4; Chas Lewless, was finished 3 of 7; and Brady Hardewig, who connected on 4 of 7.
The trio finished with 16, 13 and 14 points, respectively, to lead West Georgia.
While the Wolves attacked from the perimeter on their offensive end early, the UCLA offense leaned on its interior scoring with Dent sidelined. The Bruins’ dynamic guard was a late, reportedly precautionary, scratch from the lineup due to a muscle strain.
Tyler Bilodeau picked up the scoring slack, producing a season-high 21 points. Frontcourt mate Dailey added 14 points as UCLA outscored West Georgia in the paint 32-8.
With Dent out and Clark missing his first five field-goal attempts, Trent Perry filled the backcourt scoring void with 17 points. Perry also stepped into Dent’s ball-distribution role effectively, doling out nine assists.
UCLA scored 21 of its 27 made field goals off assists.
Clark shot 3-of-3 from the floor in the second half and finish with eight points. Jamar Brown came off the bench to chip in another 10 points for UCLA, which faces a former Pac-12 Conference rival, No. 5 Arizona, on Friday in Inglewood, Calif.
