UCLA shot 68 percent from the field in the opening half and outscored James Madison 63-29 in the period en route to a 100-70 win in regional play of the 2012 Progressive Legends Classic on Thursday night at the New Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA, which is ranked 13th in both the AP and Coaches Polls, improved to 3-0 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools separated by 2,500 miles. JMU, the last team in Division I to begin play, dropped its season opener for the fourth time in the last five years.
Five Bruins scored in double figures, led by the high-scoring duo of sophomore guard Norman Powell and freshman guard Jordan Adams. Powell had 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting with five assists while Adams added 25 points on 7-for-10 shooting and four assists.
James Madison redshirt senior forward Rayshawn Goins (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville) grabbed seven rebounds and scored 24 points, one shy of his career high, while playing for the first time since March of 2011. Redshirt senior guard A.J. Davis (Columbus, Ohio/Harmony Community School) added 16 points.
UCLA took advantage of a slow start for JMU, which missed five of its first six shots. The Bruins pulled out to a quick 18-5 advantage over the first six and a half minutes. The home team led 44-25 with under six minutes remaining when a 19-4 span to close the half essentially put the game away. It was the most points scored in a half by UCLA since 1997 and the most allowed in a first half by JMU since 1987.
The score was 26-13 at the 9:04 mark of the first half when the Bruins caught fire, going 13-for-15 from the field over the final nine minutes. UCLA was 23-for-34 from the floor in the half (67.6 percent) and hit 6-of-7 tries from the arc. The only misses during the stretch came from freshman guard Kyle Anderson, who went 1-for-10 for the game while his teammates were 35-for-51 (68.6 percent).
JMU turned the tide in the second period, using a 9-4 run over a stretch of 3:34 to try to make a dent in the margin. The Dukes outscored UCLA 41-37 in the period and shot 54 percent from the field while holding the opposition to 48 percent. Davis had 13 of his 16 points in the half.
While Powell and Adams combined for 52 points, three other players were in double figures as forward Tony Parker, center Joshua Smith and forward David Wear had 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively. Anderson had a season-high 12 rebounds and four assists while Larry Drew II had a game-high of 12 assists. The 27 assists for UCLA were the most by a JMU opponent since 2006.
JMU continues the Progressive Legends Classic with the subregional round next week in Pittsburgh. The Dukes face the home standing Dukes of Duquesne on Monday at 7 p.m. Games against Youngstown State on Tuesday and North Dakota State on Wednesday will follow, both at 4:30 p.m.
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