The UCLA Basketball team dominated in the first game of their Australia tour as the Bruins defeated Sydney University, 123-75.
If you were able to stay up late and check out the newest edition of the UCLA Basketball team, then you were in for treat. The Bruins, with talented freshman Lonzo Ball, TJ Leaf and Ike Anigbogu in the mix, were able to dominate the first game of their Australia Tour and give hope to the future of UCLA Basketball..
This is a different team. It took a while for them to get going, but half way through the first quarter (they played 10-minute quarters rather than 20-minute halves) the Bruins were able to get things going and show that they are nothing like last year’s squad
UCLA did not start any of their freshmen, instead opting for PG Aaron Holiday, SG Bryce Alford, SF Isaac Hamilton, PF Gyorgy Goloman and C Thomas Welsh. While curiosity was piqued with Head Coach Steve Alford‘s choice to go with these starters, throughout the game he tried several different lineup which looks promising for the future of the Bruins.
Welsh got the scoring surge started early as he had 6 points in the first quarter. By halftime he had 10 on 5-for-5 shooting, which were mostly hook shots. He finished the game with 12 points and 9 rebounds and overall looked very sharp.
FINAL: UCLA has defeated Sydney University, 123-76. TJ Leaf totaled a team-high 21 points. #BruinsDownUnder pic.twitter.com/qBwOVRf6ws
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) August 23, 2016
Isaac Hamilton was on fire early as he ended the half with 11 points (18 total). Aaron Holiday also stood out, but mostly for his defense. His on-ball skills were reminiscent of Darren Collison. Surprisiningly though, he was initially the most active on the boards as he ended the first half with 8 rebounds. He finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Look for Holiday to run the point a lot the season if this game is any indication of how the season will go.
Bryce Alford had a particularly quiet 17 points. As the main distributor last season, Alford took a back seat to Holiday and Ball running the point. That benefitted him as a shooting guard as he was able to move around and free him self up for his shots as he finished 6-for-10 on the night.
Next: Freshmen Impact and Overall Performance