Photo credit: @UCLAMBB

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, January 3, 2019

UCLA used a big second half to blow out Stanford 92-70 Thursday in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Pauley Pavilion, giving interim coach Murry Bartow his first win after replacing Steve Alford, who was fired earlier in the week.

It was the first time in UCLA men’s basketball history that a coach was dismissed during the season. Bartow’s father, Gene, coached the Bruins for two seasons in the mid-1970s.

Moses Brown hit 8-of-9 from the field and led the Bruins (8-6 overall, 1-0 Pac-12) with 17 points and nine rebounds. Jaylen Hands was next for UCLA with 15 points and six assists, and Kris Wilkes and Prince Ali each score 14 points.

The Bruins held a 56-30 edge on points in the paint, and their defense collected seven steals.

KZ Okpala’s 22 points topped the scoring column for Stanford (7-6, 0-1). It was the Cardinal’s 13th straight loss at UCLA, as Stanford opened its conference schedule on the road for the first time since 2013.

Okpala also pulled down 10 rebounds for the Cardinal, who were outrebounded 46-34. Okpala and Oscar Da Silva each had three assists.

With 13 minutes left in the second half, Okpala scored four straight points, pulling the Cardinal to within 48-42. UCLA asserted itself from there, building an 18-point lead with dunks by Brown, Wilkes and Ali.

The Bruins extended their lead with a 10-0 run with under four minutes remaining, taking an 88-61 advantage.

Stanford continues its L.A. road trip when it visits USC on Sunday at 5:00 pm PT.