"It's a very good and important win for us against a good, well-coached team," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "You don't see their style and system often. They really packed it in and made it difficult for Josh [Smith] to move around. After the fifth or sixth shot, we went to the zone, which really helped us win the game." UCLA basketball marriage proposal
Richmond was led by Darien Brothers' game-high 25 points. Brothers made 8-of-16 shots, hitting 5-of-10 shots from three-point range.
UCLA hit just one shot in the game's first 5:38, falling behind by an 11-3 margin before Anderson made a layup with 14:22 left before halftime.
Richmond maintained its early first-half cushion against UCLA, leading 14-5 and 20-12 in the first seven minutes before the Bruins rallied to tie the game at halftime, 24-24.
In the final minute of the first half, UCLA claimed its first lead of the game, taking a 22-21 lead with 44 seconds to play on a jump shot from David Wear. Brothers nailed a three-pointer for Richmond with 31 seconds left before Jones answered with a layup three seconds before halftime, tying the game, 24-24.
"Offensively, in the second half, we did a better job, cutting harder, better spacing, more movement and running motion," Howland said. "It's important for us to put something together after the slow start. We're playing better and are much more cohesive."
The Bruins opened the second half with a 7-0 scoring run to secure a 31-24 advantage. UCLA did not trail after halftime, but never pushed its lead to double digits until the game's final 17 seconds.
"We're getting some confidence, and that's huge," Jones said. "Everyone is rooting for each other. It feels good to get some wins. We have to build on this."
UCLA led 63-59 after Richmond's Derrick Williams made two free throws. On their next possession, the Bruins answered with a put-back by Travis Wear on a missed shot from David Wear with 1:33 left in the game.
After Richmond missed a layup with 1:16 remaining, the Bruins pushed their margin to eight points (67-59) on a layup from Travis Wear with 40 seconds left.
UCLA closed the first half on a 19-10 scoring run, with Jones and David Wear leading the team with eight points each before halftime.
Friday night's game marked the Bruins' final non-conference contest before the team enters Pac-12 play at Stanford on Thursday, Dec. 29. Game time at Stanford's Maples Pavilion is 8 p.m. (PT). The UCLA-Stanford game will be televised on Prime Ticket.
UCLA has one non-conference game left on its regular-season schedule, playing St. John's at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, Feb. 18.
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