No. 22 UCLA routs Rider 85-50 in season opener behind Bilodeau’s 18 points in Bruins debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyler Bilodeau scored 18 points in his UCLA debut after transferring from Oregon State, and the 22nd-ranked Bruins routed Rider 85-50 on Monday night in their season opener.

Dylan Andrews added 14 points and six assists. Kobe Johnson, who transferred from crosstown-rival USC, had 12 points and eight rebounds.

T.J. Weeks Jr. led Rider with 15 points, hitting a game-high four 3-pointers.

The Bruins led all the way, running off 10 straight points to end the first half ahead 41-23.

Bilodeau got hot to start the second half, scoring 10 points in the first five minutes to extend UCLA’s lead to 53-32.

UCLA got six 3-pointers from five different players in the second half. Andrews’ 3 pushed the lead to 78-46.

Takeaways

Rider: The Broncs stayed within single digits in the opening minutes, but couldn’t keep up with the Bruins’ talent level.

UCLA: The Bruins added nine new players — six transfers and three freshmen. Eleven players saw action and all but two of them scored. Eric Dailey Jr. out of Oklahoma State had a strong first half and finished with nine points and eight rebounds to go with four fouls.

Key moment

UCLA’s 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara and Rider’s 7-2 Alaaeddine Boutayeb went against each other at times. Boutayeb, who is from Morocco, finished with 14 points and two rebounds. Mara from Spain had five points and two rebounds.

Key stat

UCLA dominated nearly every statistical category. But the Broncs were better in one area: offensive rebounds (18-15).

Up next

The Broncs stay out West to face San Diego on Wednesday in the second of seven straight road games to begin the season. The Bruins travel to suburban Las Vegas for a neutral-court game against New Mexico on Friday.

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The Associated Press