Bernard jump starts UCLA to 69-58 win over Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jules Bernard scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half as the UCLA Bruins staked an early lead and outlasted Utah 69-58 on Thursday night.

Tyger Campbell had 13 points and steadied the Bruins when the Utes made a couple runs. Chris Smith, David Singleton and Jaime Jaquez each had nine for the Bruins, who have won eight of 10.

Alfonso Plummer scored 16 points, Timmy Allen had 11 points while Branden Carlson scored 10 before fouling out in just 13 minutes of action for the Utes, who dropped to 10-2 at home.

The Bruins (16-11, 9-5 Pac-12) led by as many 20 after Campbell made a jumper with 11:28 left in the game.

The Utes (14-12, 5-9 Pac-12) began pressing full court and trimmed the lead to single digits in the final two minutes but couldn’t make enough long-range shots — Utah was 3 for 12 from 3-point range — to truly threaten.

UCLA is now 15-0 this season when limiting the opposition to 73 points or fewer and remain within striking distance of the logjam at the top of the conference.

UCLA set the tone early by making seven of its first eight shots and never trailing.

Bernard’s 14 first-half points helped the Bruins grab a big lead early. Cody Riley missed a free throw but the shortest Bruin flew in for the rebound and dished to Singleton for 3-pointer that gave UCLA a 33-21 lead at the half.

Bernard hasn’t scored 16 since the North Carolína game on Dec. 21.

FRUSTRATION BOILS OVER

As poorly as the Utes have performed away from Salt Lake City, they have been potent at home. Against the Bruins switching defense, they couldn’t find a rhythm and had 16 turnovers. They even had one of four shot clock violation out of a timeout.

Carlson was in foul trouble throughout the game and Utah coach Larry Kryskowiak was arguing with the officials all game long. He was whistled for a technical foul with 4:31 left in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA: The Bruins are peaking at the right time even though they struggled with turning the ball over (19) when the Utes applied pressure. The Bruins ran a deliberate offense against Utah’s matchup zone and got high-percentage shots and then bolstered the attack with 11 offensive rebounds.

Utah: Carlson scored eight points early and supplied the Utah offense with a genuine low-post threat but once he sat with two fouls, the Utes struggled to get decent looks. As has happened throughout the year, the Utes had another long drought as almost eight minutes of the first half without a field goal.

UP NEXT

UCLA: visits Colorado on Saturday.

Utah: hosts Southern California on Sunday afternoon.