(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
Friday night, David Singleton demonstrated once more why he might be the final piece the Bruins need. Long Beach State was defeated by UCLA, who is ranked eighth, thanks to a shot from David Singleton from the sixth position. In the No. 8 Bruins’ 93-69 victory over Long Beach State at Pauley Pavilion, Singleton came off the bench to shine. He unleashed a spectacular pump fake to set himself up for one three-pointer and calmly buried several more. One of five Bruins to reach double figures in scoring, Singleton made four of his eight three-point attempts on route to a total of 14 points. This season, he has made seven out of his 11 attempts from beyond the arc. The usual UCLA suspects provided a lot of assistance. Tyger Campbell, a senior guard, became the 60th player in school history to reach 1,000 points on the same night he scored 18. Jaylen Clark, a young guard, added 16 points and four steals.
Everyone in the arena was waiting to see if he was well after a first-half scare in which he missed an open layup and collapsed to the floor while banging his right knee. Before falling to the bench, Bailey paused for a time behind the baseline. He was harmed, but his embarrassment was worse.
After teammate Kenneth Nwaba’s block, Bailey responded with a string of outstanding plays, starting with a transition layup. After Jaquez stole the ball, he then hit another layup. Bailey showed off even additional skills after taking a feed from Nwaba by making a baseline jump shot and advancing for a two-handed dunk.
Clark served as a renewable energy source for UCLA (2-0). He had a strong two-way effort in the first game, hitting all seven of his shots and earning a career-high seven steals. This sparked a swift turnaround for him. Due to two thefts and another forced turnover close to midcourt, Clark’s team overcame an early deficit to go on a 21-3 run.
With nine straight victories versus Long Beach State, UCLA is currently 20-1 overall. Lisena Traore led the Beach (1-0) with 14 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough to match the Bruins’ whole cast.
