UCLA 75, Cal-State Bakersfield 64

Without Nikola Dragovic in the starting lineup – he was suspended indefinitely after being arrested for felony assault charges (see here: Drago – the Bruins struggled out of the gate against the visiting Roadrunners.

UCLA (1-1) was down by as many as 11 in the first half and was still down 10 with 3 minutes, 57 seconds left in the first half, before sophomore forward Drew Gordon sparked a 10-0 run to close the half. Gordon had six points and a monstrous block of Cal-State Bakersfield’s Stephon Carter that swung the momentum in the Bruins’ favor.

The roll continued into the second half, as UCLA outscored the Roadrunners 17-6 in the early going of the second half and maintained a 15-point lead for much of the half by shooting 59.3 percent from the field, after shooting just 31 percent against Cal-State Fullerton.

Gordon led all scorers with 19 points, and all five Bruin starters scored in double figures, with senior guard Michael Roll chipping in 12 points and sophomore point guard Jerime Anderson, sophomore guard Malcolm Lee and senior forward James Keefe each adding 10. Carter and Trent Blakely led Cal-State Bakersfield (1-2) with 15 points each.

After saying he regretted not playing freshman forward Reeves Nelson more in the season-opening loss to Cal-State Fullerton, Howland deployed his freshmen throughout the game, with Nelson and forwards Brendan Lane and Mike Moser rotated throughout the game.