Joshua Smith had season highs with 18 points and 10 rebounds, leading the UCLA Bruins to an 82-39 blowout win over the overmatched UC Davis Aggies on Saturday afternoon at Honda Center in Anaheim. With the win, UCLA moved to .500 for the first time this season.
Smith in many ways has been emblematic of the Bruins' poor start this season, as he came into the game averaging 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. A combination of poor conditioning, poor play, and foul trouble limited Smith to just 16.8 minutes per game. However, Smith was effective and active in his 29 minutes on Saturday, picking up his first double-double of the year, to go along with three blocks.
The Bruins got off to a 29-4 start to open the game, and never looked back. David Wear added 15 points and six rebounds for UCLA, while Tyler Lamb nearly had a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Anthony Stover blocked five shots for the Bruins, who outrebounded UC Davis 49-33 on the game.
UC Davis shot just 23.6% (13 for 55) for the game, and had no players score in double figures. Josh Ritchart, the Aggies' leading scorer on the season, led UC Davis on Saturday with eight points. UC Davis has lost six straight games to fall to 1-9 on the season.
The Bruins are 3-0 since Reeves Nelson was dismissed from the team. UCLA (5-5) next hosts the UC Irvine Anteaters on Tuesday night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
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