LOS ANGELES — Most preseason assessments of UCLA centered on the three veteran starters being joined by a group of enticing freshmen.
That’s great and everything, but don’t forget about the sixth man.
David Singleton showed once again Friday night why he might be the piece who completes the Bruins.
Unleashing a wicked pump fake to free himself for one three-pointer and calmly burying several others, Singleton came off the bench to star during the No. 8 Bruins’ 93-69 victory over Long Beach State at Pauley Pavilion.
Singleton made four of eight three-pointers on the way to 14 points as one of five Bruins to score in double figures. He has made seven of 11 shots from beyond the arc this season.
There was plenty of help from the usual UCLA suspects. Senior guard Tyger Campbell scored 18 points on the night he became the 60th player in school history to score 1,000 points. Junior guard Jaylen Clark added 16 points and four steals. Freshman guard Amari Bailey tallied 14 points after a quiet debut four nights earlier, and senior forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 12 points.
Bailey’s breakthrough came after a first-half scare when the energy inside the building vanished in an instant, everyone waiting to see whether he was OK after missing an uncontested layup and banging his right knee while falling to the court. Bailey lingered along the baseline for several moments before limping to the bench.
He was more embarrassed than hurt.
Fortunately, there was plenty of time left to make up for the blunder.
Bailey complied by making several dazzling plays, starting with a transition layup sparked by teammate Kenneth Nwuba’s block. He followed with another layup off a Jaquez steal. Showing some other moves, Bailey buried a baseline jumper and drove for a two-handed dunk after taking a pass from Nwuba.
In a far more pleasing flash than his going down underneath the basket, Bailey had scored eight of his team’s 10 points to help it build a 20-point cushion late in the first half.
It wasn’t perfect, Bailey’s three turnovers and two fouls leaving plenty of room for improvement. But his performance was encouraging given what had happened in the game’s opening minutes.
Bailey airballed a three-pointer and was called for traveling. The Bruins gave up an uncontested three-pointer, making coach Mick Cronin stomping mad as his team fell behind 8-2.
Then UCLA (2-0) turned to a renewable energy source in Clark. Coming off a strong two-way effort in the opener in which he made all seven shots and logged a career-high seven steals, he sparked a speedy turnaround. Clark made two steals and forced another turnover near midcourt, triggering his team’s 21-3 push that wiped out its early deficit.
There was another ugly stretch midway through the first half involving the Bruins’ bigs.
Making his college debut after serving what amounted to a one-game NCAA suspension for a violation of unspecified amateurism rules, Adem Bona picked up two quick fouls and departed the game, only for his replacement, Nwuba, to commit an offensive foul and get immediately yanked. Then Mac Etienne, the replacement for the replacement, committed a foul after a 12-second stint and got replaced by Nwuba.
Campbell surpassed 1,000 points when he buried a three-pointer in the first half, his achievement recognized on the scoreboard several minutes later.
UCLA is now 20-1 against Long Beach State, winning nine consecutive games. Lassina Traore scored 14 points to lead the Beach (1-1), but it wasn’t nearly enough to contend with the Bruins’ ensemble cast.
UCLA logged 10 steals and four blocks while holding Long Beach State to 36.4% shooting, including 28.6% on three-pointers.
