Nikola Kusturica Scores 29 as No. 22 UCLA Beats North Florida 114-63

Kicker: NCAA (men's college)

Photo: The Dyme

Nikola Kusturica scored 29 points as No. 22 UCLA beat North Florida 114-63 on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. Kusturica shot 10-of-12 from the field, 4-of-6 from three and 5-of-5 at the line in 23 minutes, with six rebounds, three assists, one steal, two blocks and no turnovers, per the ESPN box score. Attendance was 4,684. The game aired on BTN. UCLA moved to 2-0 (1-0 at home). North Florida fell to 1-1 (1-1 on the road).

Jaylen Petty scored 22 on 8-of-12 shooting and 3-of-6 from three in 25 minutes, with four rebounds and three assists. Joe Philon III added 17 on 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from three, with three rebounds and five steals in 21 minutes. Eric Dailey Jr. scored 11 with nine rebounds and four assists on 5-of-11. Trent Perry scored 11 with five rebounds, six assists and two steals, going 5-of-8 at the line. Sergej Macura had nine points, six rebounds and three assists. Brandon Williams scored eight on 4-of-7. Azavier Robinson added six points, five rebounds and four assists. Five Bruins reached double figures, by our count from the ESPN player box.

Kent Jackson led North Florida with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and 3-of-6 from three. BJ Plummer scored 10 on 2-of-3 from the field, 2-of-3 from three and 4-of-4 at the line, with six rebounds and two assists. Eddie Placer added 10. JR Bartelus scored eight on 4-of-13. Ayuba Bryant Jr. scored seven. Mason Watkins had six points and six rebounds. Asa Kohn scored six on two threes. Chris Perry added five. Three Ospreys reached double figures, by our count.

UCLA held the No. 22 spot in the Associated Press Top 25, per the NCAA.com AP poll and ESPN's game ranking. North Florida was unranked.

Led 52-20 at the half, then a 62-43 second half

Kusturica opened the scoring with a 21-foot jumper at 18:57 of the first half for a 2-0 UCLA lead, per the ESPN play-by-play. North Florida took its first lead at 12:14 of the first half on Kent Jackson's 25-foot three (13-12), by our count. Jackson's 29-foot three at 9:49 put the Ospreys ahead 18-17, the last North Florida lead of the night, by our count. ESPN listed six lead changes, a one-point North Florida largest lead and a 4% North Florida lead share.

UCLA answered with a 35-0 run from a 17-18 deficit to 52-18, by our count from the play-by-play, starting with Kusturica's 26-foot three at 9:24 that made it 20-18. Philon's layup, assisted by Kusturica, at 6:41 made it 28-18, UCLA's first 10-point lead, by our count. Philon's layup, assisted by Robinson, at 4:04 made it 38-18, the first 20-point lead. Petty's 9-foot pullup at 2:23 made it 48-18, the first 30-point lead. JR Bartelus' 7-foot pullup at 1:03 closed the first-half scoring at 52-20, per ESPN linescores.

Kusturica made all nine of his first-half shots, including four threes, and both trips to the line (4-of-4) for 26 points, by our count from the ESPN play-by-play. That was half of UCLA's 52 at the break and six more than North Florida's 20, by our count. He added three second-half points on a dunk and a free throw at 17:35.

Trent Perry's 26-foot three at 17:07 of the second half made it 64-24, the first 40-point lead, by our count. Petty's 24-foot three, assisted by Macura, at 10:11 made it 87-36, the first 50-plus-point lead. Robinson's 8-foot jumper at 5:47 made it 109-51, matching ESPN's listed largest lead of 58, by our count. Jordan Houegban's free throw at 0:27 set the 114-63 final.

UCLA outscored North Florida 62-43 after halftime, per the ESPN linescores (UCLA 52-62, North Florida 20-43). The final margin was 51 points, by our count (114-63). ESPN listed UCLA leading for 91% of the game.

54% shooting, 14 threes and 12 steals

UCLA shot 38-of-70 from the field (54%), 14-of-29 from three (48%) and 24-of-34 at the line (71%), per ESPN. North Florida shot 20-of-63 (32%), 10-of-34 from three (29%) and 13-of-20 at the line (65%). The Bruins outrebounded the Ospreys 49-34, including a 14-9 edge on the offensive glass and a 35-25 edge on the defensive glass. Assists went 24-11. Turnovers went 8-17. Steals went 12-3. Blocks went 4-1.

UCLA scored 38 points in the paint to North Florida's 16, per ESPN. Points off turnovers went 28-10. Fast-break points went 22-0. Personal fouls went 20-23. Philon's five steals led the game. Perry's six assists led UCLA. Dailey's nine rebounds led UCLA.

UCLA made 24 two-pointers for 48 points; North Florida made 10 for 20, by our count from the ESPN team box. The Bruins scored 42 points on threes to North Florida's 30, and 24 at the line to 13. That splits the 51-point margin into 28 on two-pointers, 12 on threes and 11 at the line, by our count.

The box score, side by side

Full-game team numbers, per the ESPN box and checked against the CBS Sports gametracker box for North Florida at UCLA:

Category	UCLA	North Florida
Field goals	38-70 (54%)	20-63 (32%)
3-pointers	14-29 (48%)	10-34 (29%)
Free throws	24-34 (71%)	13-20 (65%)
Rebounds	49	34
Offensive rebounds	14	9
Defensive rebounds	35	25
Assists	24	11
Turnovers	8	17
Steals	12	3
Blocks	4	1
Points in the paint	38	16
Points off turnovers	28	10
Fast-break points	22	0
Largest lead	58	1
Percent of game led	91%	4%
Lead changes	6	6
Personal fouls	20	23

Half scoring, per the ESPN linescores:

Half	UCLA	North Florida
1	52	20
2	62	43
Final	114	63

Five UCLA scorers reached double figures (29, 22, 17, 11, 11). Three North Florida scorers reached double figures (11, 10, 10). Kusturica, Petty and Philon combined for 68 of UCLA's 114 on 24-of-31 shooting, by our count.

What the box leaves next

UCLA turned a nine-turnover difference (17-8) into an 18-point edge in points off turnovers (28-10) and a 22-0 edge on the break, by our count from the ESPN team box. The Bruins host UAPB on Wednesday, Nov. 11, per the ESPN schedule, with the tip time listed as TBD. UCLA beat Arizona 84-75 in its previous game. North Florida is 1-1.

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Sources:

• ESPN: North Florida vs. UCLA box score
• ESPN: North Florida vs. UCLA play-by-play
• ESPN: North Florida vs. UCLA game page
• CBS Sports: North Florida at UCLA gametracker box score
• NCAA.com: AP Top 25 men's basketball poll
• UCLA Athletics: Nikola Kusturica roster page
• ESPN: UAPB at UCLA schedule listing (event 401930177)