The buzz filling the long-empty arena disappeared in an agonizing instant.
Cody Riley fell to the court amid a scramble for the ball midway through the first half, the UCLA redshirt senior forward grabbing his left knee in agony. Fans inside Pauley Pavilion let out a collective groan and went silent.
A trainer helped Riley stretch his knee before the Bruins big man walked slowly off the court while fans chanted his name. Whatever happened next during second-ranked UCLA’s season opener against Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday night seemed secondary to assessing the status of the team’s rapidly thinning frontcourt.
Redshirt freshman forward Mac Etienne had already been lost — likely for the season — because of a suspected torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the second ACL injury suffered by the Bruins after freshman guard Will McClendon went down in preseason workouts with the same issue.
As it commenced its most anticipated season in more than a decade, seven months after completing its run from the First Four to the Final Four, the last thing UCLA needed was another player going down with a serious knee injury. A team spokesperson announced shortly after Riley headed toward the locker room that he would not return during the team’s eventual 95-58 victory.
Riley’s departure left UCLA’s post play in the exclusive hands of graduate transfer Myles Johnson and redshirt junior Kenneth Nwuba. Johnson showed some good activity with five rebounds and two blocks and Nwuba threw down an alley-oop dunk and blocked two shots during an energetic stint off the bench.
Any extended absence for Riley would deprive the team of one of its hardest workers and most gutsy players. UCLA coach Mick Cronin had described Riley as “a warrior” for playing through the lingering pain of a serious ankle injury late last season.
The vibes in the Bruins’ first regular-season game in front of their home fans since Feb. 29, 2020, had been decidedly more upbeat before Riley went down.
The fun started about 20 minutes before tipoff, UCLA freshman Peyton Watson acknowledging the students’ roll call with a wave and a bounce pass that he threw to himself for a one-handed dunk.
Johnny Juzang, the team’s breakthrough star of the NCAA tournament, made the students call his name so many times they might have thought he was ignoring them before finally raising an arm into the air.
Johnson, a newcomer who recently admitted the pregame tradition caught him by surprise last week during an exhibition game, was ready this time, thrusting both of his massive arms into the air with a smile.
The Bruins were back, and they were ready to rock a crowd that included UCLA legend Jamaal Wilkes as well as former Bruin and current Laker Trevor Ariza.
Juzang and Jules Bernard led the Bruins with 19 points each and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in a strong across-the-board effort.
Bruins sophomore guard Jaylen Clark, who sat out the team’s exhibition game after experiencing concussion symptoms, showed he was just fine by notching 10 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. Among his highlights were the lob to Nwuba and a driving layup in which he was fouled while falling to the court, motioning with his hand that the basket counted.
Watson endured some freshman moments, missing his first seven shots and committing three turnovers, while also flashing his otherworldly length and athleticism. He recovered on one play in which he appeared to block a shot from behind and kept a fast break alive by saving a ball inbounds.
Watson made his first basket on a spin move in the lane late in the second half and finished with seven points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
UCLA stuck with the same starting lineup that got it to the Final Four last season, Riley getting the nod in addition to guards Juzang, Bernard, Jaquez and Tyger Campbell.
As if to reinforce the outsized expectations facing the team, Campbell, Jaquez and Juzang were named earlier in the day to the preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award that goes to the nation’s top player. UCLA joined Gonzaga and Kansas as the only teams to have three players on the 50-player preseason list.
Riley sat on the bench in a white shirt and blue pants during the second half, his outfit another reminder of a team’s fickle fortunes no matter how deep or experienced.
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