Peyton Watson debuts as UCLA cruises past Chico State in exhibition

LOS ANGELES — It didn’t number arsenic a win, but it counted for something.

UCLA’s set was playing, students were cheering, and immoderate shiny caller toys were connected show successful the men’s hoops team’s 100-61 accumulation triumph implicit Chico State connected Thursday nighttime astatine Pauley Pavilion.

“I don’t deliberation I’ve ever seen that galore students astatine an accumulation crippled before,” UCLA manager Mick Cronin said. “That was awesome.”

It was the archetypal Pauley Pavilion crippled with fans successful attendance successful 614 days due to the fact that of the COVID-19 protocols that prohibited fans, and adjacent cheerleaders, from being successful the arena for games past season. The past location crippled with fans was connected Feb. 29, 2020, against Arizona.

UCLA’s regular-season opener is Tuesday nighttime against Cal State Bakersfield, backmost wrong Pauley.

It didn’t instrumentality agelong for second-ranked UCLA to enforce its volition connected its NCAA Division II opponent. Actually, it was Jaime Jaquez Jr. who took liberty, scoring 7 of the team’s 9 archetypal points with 2 layups and a 3-pointer. He besides took an aboriginal complaint and blocked a changeable astatine the rim earlier moving down the tribunal for a 3-point play. He finished with 21 points successful 21 minutes connected 7-of-8 shooting with 5 assists and 3 rebounds to pb the Bruins.

“Jaime is an elite assemblage player,” Cronin said. “Jaime is simply a truly hard feline to support for different teams due to the fact that we play him arsenic a constituent guardant and helium tends to person a bigger, slower feline connected him and evidently we usage that to our advantage.’

UCLA started a acquainted lineup successful Tyger Campbell, Johnny Juzang, Jules Bernard, Cody Riley and Jaquez Jr. – the aforesaid starters who anchored the team’s tally to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament past spring. The Bruins had a 16-7 pb by the archetypal media timeout, and the borderline rapidly ballooned to 22-9 past 41-23 astatine halftime.

The prime showed. UCLA changeable 57% from the field, had conscionable 8 turnovers, scored 26 of its 42 overgarment points successful the opening half, and held Chico State to conscionable 39% shooting overall.

The 2nd fractional started with 3 3-pointers successful a enactment from Juzang, Bernard and Jaquez Jr., respectively, to marque it 54-31 astatine the 17:25 mark.

Juzang had 17 points including 3 3-pointers. Bernard added 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Myles Johnson, a transportation halfway from Rutgers, and touted freshman Peyton Watson were stellar. Johnson grabbed 4 of the archetypal 5 rebounds disposable erstwhile helium checked in, engulfing thing coming disconnected the rim. He was the starring rebounder successful the crippled successful conscionable 2 minutes. He finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds successful 13 minutes. Johnson had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots successful 15 minutes.

“Statistically, astir a double-double successful 15 minutes,” Cronin said of Johnson. “It’s the astir evident happening retired there, size wise. His size is thing we need.”

While Johnson’s enactment was noticeable to those who ticker hoops with a adjacent eye, the contributions from Watson were much electric. His 4 first-half points came via dunks. The archetypal was a breakaway disconnected a bargain from Campbell, and his 2nd was a singular idiosyncratic effort conscionable earlier the halftime buzzer.

“Coach trusted maine with the shot earlier the half,” said Watson, explaining the archetypal half’s last play. “There were shooters each astir me, truthful I knew the defence couldn’t assistance much.”

Watson had an isolation play arsenic the timepiece was winding down, crossed his defender implicit and slashed to the handbasket for an emphatic two-handed dunk close successful beforehand of the pupil section.

“I knew precisely what was going to happen,” Jaquez Jr. said of Watson’s dunk.

Watson, who is already projected to beryllium a lottery prime successful the 2022 NBA Draft showed his versatility successful astir each facet. He worked successful the pick-and-roll with Johnson, which resulted successful dunks. He played tenacious defence and lone changeable erstwhile helium was open.

The freshman finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals successful 27 minutes.

Jaylen Clark and Mac Etienne did not play. Clark was held retired for precautionary reasons (concussion-like symptoms). Etienne was retired with a close genu injury.

PRESEASON HONORS FOR JAQUEZ, JUZANG

Jaquez and Juzang were among the 20 names connected the preseason ticker database for the 2022 NABC Division I Player of the Year, which was announced Thursday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

The 2 juniors are the lone Pac-12 players connected the list.

The subordinate of the twelvemonth grant volition beryllium announced during the week of the 2022 Final Four successful New Orleans.