Only a handful of students showed up for the roll call Tuesday night, Thanksgiving week draining the usual pregame pep inside Pauley Pavilion.
The place wouldn’t stay quiet for long.
UCLA point guard Dylan Andrews collected the opening jump ball with a firm hand slap that could be heard in the upper reaches of the arena. He scored on the game’s opening possession after taking a pass from Kobe Johnson underneath the basket for a layup.
On the other end of the court, the Bruins forced a Southern Utah turnover when Skyy Clark dove onto the court for a steal, clapping in celebration after the Thunderbirds compounded their mistake with a foul.
It was going to be a long, painfully noisy night for the visitors.
Dominating in every facet, UCLA displayed plenty of life during an 88-43 rout that represented its fifth consecutive victory and easily its best showing of the early season.
UCLA (6-1) outrebounded Southern Utah (6-2) by 14 while committing 22 fewer turnovers and shooting 47.5% to the Thunderbirds’ 35%. The Bruins also collected 15 steals and four blocks.
The loudest cheer came in the final minute when walk-on guard Jack Seidler made a spinning layup that prompted his teammates to mob him in celebration after the final buzzer.
Lazar Stefanovic scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half and Andrews contributed nine of his 11 points in the second half to lead UCLA. Stefanovic’s highlight came with just under eight minutes left in the game when he drove for a one-handed dunk in transition that had his teammates dancing on the bench.
Eric Dailey Jr. added 15 points for the Bruins.
Xavier Sykes scored 10 points for Southern Utah, which committed 30 turnovers and escaped setting records for futility by making four consecutive shots late in the game.
UCLA has a week off before opening Big Ten play on Dec. 3 against Washington.
