UCLA snaps 2-game skid, beats Cal State Northridge 77-45
LOS ANGELES (AP) Tony Parker woke up Sunday morning with a cold so bad he could barely breathe, let alone talk.
Once he stepped onto the court though, all signs of illness seemed to disappear.
Parker had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double in seven games this season, and UCLA cruised to a 77-45 win over visiting Cal State Northridge.
''It was easy for me to get going out there,'' Parker said. ''Once I got sweating, I was good.''
The 6-foot-9 senior center, who questioned his team's toughness after a loss to Wake Forest in the Maui Invitational last week, shot 6 of 11 from the field and had three blocks. His effort helped the Bruins (4-3) snap a two-game losing streak in their first home game since returning from Maui.
''It was a little cold there on the court, but I'll be all right,'' Parker said. ''I've played through worse before.''
Isaac Hamilton added 14 points and Aaron Holiday scored 13. Bryce Alford dished out 10 assists as UCLA assisted on 21 of its 29 field goals.
The Bruins also made a season-high nine three-pointers. Hamilton shot 4 of 10 from beyond the arc and Holiday was 3 for 3.
CSUN (2-5) fell behind by double-digits less than five minutes into the game and never recovered. Tavrion Dawson, Jason Richardson and Micheal Warren each scored nine points to lead the Matadors in their third straight loss.
CSUN shot 29.3 percent from the field, including 1 of 11 from 3-point range.
''When we shoot 29 percent, there's not really much to talk about,'' Matadors coach Reggie Theus said. ''UCLA played okay, but they didn't have to play very hard because we weren't making any shots. It boils down to our inability to score.''
UCLA began the game on a 14-0 run and extended its lead to 17 points after Hamilton's third 3-pointer of the first half made it 21-4. The Bruins kept that margin and went into halftime up 39-22.
''In Maui we had a couple rough starts and that's been something that's happening to us,'' Alford said. ''It was part of the gameplan to get ahead first, to punch first, and keep throwing punches.''
Alford's 3-pointer capped an 11-0 UCLA run early in the second half to extend the Bruins lead to 59-30 with 12:42 to go. Parker scored six points during an 8-0 run later in the half to give UCLA a 75-43 lead with just under five minutes to go, their largest lead of the game, and the Bruins closed out the win with that same 32-point margin.
''UCLA came out and dictated the tempo,'' CSUN guard Landon Drew said. ''They came out aggressive, and at that point we were playing catch-up.''
TIP-INS
Cal State Northridge: The Matadors have only one win against a Div. 1 opponent this season, a 72-67 victory over Wright State on Nov. 14 . Only seven players saw minutes in the game . CSUN committed 15 turnovers.
UCLA: The Bruins improved to 8-1 all-time against the Matadors ... Their previous season-high in 3-pointers made was eight against Monmouth in the season opener ... UCLA committed only seven turnovers for a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio
UP NEXT
Cal State Northridge hosts Pepperdine on Dec. 5
UCLA hosts No. 1 Kentucky on Thursday
THREE PROBLEMS
CSUN has allowed 31 three-pointers in its last three games, all losses. The Matadors surrendered 13 to Southern California and nine to Loyola Marymount before giving up nine against the Bruins.
''The problem is our sense of urgency,'' Theus said. ''It's freshmen not understanding the importance of guys that can shoot and staying within contact of those guys.''
MILESTONE WATCH
Alford scored eight points to give him 956 in his career. He is 44 away from becoming the 52nd player in UCLA history with 1,000 career points.
