Myles Johnson recorded his first double-double in a Bruins' uniform with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds as the No. 5-ranked UCLA men's basketball team defeated Colorado 73-61 Wednesday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Tyger Campbell scored a season-high 21 points, draining four 3-pointers, and totaled seven rebounds and five assists to lead UCLA (7-1, 1-0 Pac-12) in its first Pac-12 contest of the 2021-22 season.
Johnny Juzang had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Jules Bernard totaled 10 points, rounding out the Bruins' list of double-figure scorers.
Colorado (6-2, 1-1 Pac-12) received a team-leading 22 points and 11 rebounds from Jabari Walker.
"[Myles] had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 deflections, so he's got a UCLA triple-double," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "What I told him was, 'That's what I want to see every game.' For him, being included in the offense and having plays demanded of him – I think he's been such a nice guy his whole career, people just kind of accepted who he used to be. My message to him coming here, 'I don't accept that from anybody.' I came here to try to win a championship."
The Bruins led by as many as 17 points, late in the first half, before Colorado used a 14-1 run midway through the second half to reduce UCLA's cushion to just four points (at 48-44, with 9:35 remaining).
UCLA answered with six consecutive points. A 3-pointer from Campbell at the 6:27 mark in the second half pushed the Bruins ahead of Colorado, 57-46.
The Bruins had entered the locker room at halftime with a 39-23 cushion.
UCLA capitalized off four Colorado turnovers, using an 11-0 scoring run to log its largest lead of the game, at 33-16 with 4:33 to play (first half). Bernard recorded a steal, sprinted downcourt and found Juzang for a layup. After Jake Kyman sank a pair of free throws, Jaylen Clark drew an offensive foul before driving to the basket to flush hom a one-handed dunk. On UCLA's next possession, David Singleton made the extra pass to Bernard for a wide-open 3-point basket.
Juzang scored four points and assisted on another four to help UCLA out to a 12-2 run and a 14-4 lead six minutes into the game. After Juzang went coast-to-coast for a layup and hit a fadeaway jumper off an inbounds pass, he dropped a dime to Johnson under the basket. Johnson went up for the dunk and brought it down with two hands, giving the Bruins an 11-4 advantage.
Campbell poked the ball loose from forward Tristan da Silva's hands a few seconds later and swished a three on the other end to stretch the margin up to 10 points at 14-4 with 16:04 to play.
UCLA will return to action against Washington on Sunday, Dec. 5. Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m. (PT) at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. The Bruins' game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.