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UCLA exploded for 21 unanswered points in the first half and raced to an 85-45 blowout of Lehigh on Friday in Los Angeles.

The Bruins (3-1) had given up 10 consecutive points after building an early 15-3 lead, the Mountain Hawks’ run punctuated by Keith Higgins Jr. hitting a 3-pointer and converting a three-point play.

UCLA proceeded to hold Lehigh (0-4) without a point for the ensuing 8:02, turning a two-point lead into a 23-point advantage over that stretch. Entering halftime, the gap was 28 points.

The Bruins did not let up in the second half. UCLA outscored Lehigh 18-4 over a stretch lasting almost six minutes after Lehigh briefly pulled to within 50-28.

Aday Mara put up 16 points for the Bruins, surpassing the career of 14 he set one year prior to the day in a win over Long Island. On Friday, Mara capped the first-half run with the final four UCLA points before halftime.

Mara, shooting 7-for-8 from the floor, was one of four UCLA scorers in double figures. Eric Dailey Jr. paced the team with 17 and 10 rebounds. Tyler Bilodeau added 15 points, and Sebastian Mack had his second consecutive double-figure point-scoring performance, coming off the bench for 10 points.

UCLA’s Skyy Clark scored nine points and Kobe Johnson chipped in with eight rebounds and four assists. Friday was the Bruins’ second game without 2023-24 leading scorer Dylan Andrews, who is sidelined due to a groin injury.

Higgins led all scorers with 18 points. Higgins and Tyler Whitney-Sidney, who finished with 10 points, were the only Mountain Hawks to make more than two field-goal attempts.

Higgins shot 6-for-17 from the floor and Whitney-Sidney went 4-for-6. The rest of the Mountain Hawks were a combined 5-for-28 (17.9 percent).

–Field Level Media