LOS ANGELES (AP) Thomas Welsh scored a career-high 22 points on 10 of 12 shooting and UCLA bounced back 48 hours after an embarrassing season-opening loss to beat pesky Cal Poly 88-83 Sunday night.
Tony Parker added 16 points and 14 rebounds - his second straight double-double - for the Bruins (1-1), who lost to Monmouth 84-81 on Friday after blowing leads of 13 points in regulation and five in overtime.
Reese Morgan scored 20 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Luke Meikle added 16 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Mustangs (0-2). They lost their opener 74-72 at UNLV on Friday.
UCLA led by 15 early in the second half only to see the Mustangs tie the game at 67-all on a 3-pointer by Morgan. His basket capped a 23-8 run in which Morgan had two more 3-pointers and Meikle had a 3-point play and a 3-pointer. The Mustangs hit 13 3-pointers.
Cal Poly took its only lead of the game, 69-68, on Meikle's jumper.
The Bruins' shaky free-throw shooting - 13 of 21 in the second half - and poor 3-point defense allowed Cal Poly to keep things close. The Mustangs trailed 73-71 before Welsh scored four straight points and Bryce Alford followed with three in a row to push UCLA's lead to 80-71.
The Bruins led 47-37 at halftime. The Mustangs used timely 3-point shooting to cut their deficit to four before UCLA pushed its lead back to double-digits with a 10-4 run heading into the break.
TIP-INS
Cal Poly: The Mustangs return four seniors that have made a combined 311 appearances for the program. ... Cal Poly recorded the school's first win over a ranked opponent by beating then-No. 11 UCLA in November 2012.
UCLA: Jonah Bolden made his delayed college debut, with 11 points and five rebounds. The Aussie was held out of the opener for team disciplinary reasons.
UP NEXT
Cal Poly: Host Cal State Monterey Bay on Wednesday.
UCLA: Host Pepperdine on Thursday.
