Bruins bury Buckeyes in second half in CBS Sports Classic

It’s all about UCLA these days in Westwood.

Coach Steve Alford admitted that last year the Bruins let too much noise in — too concerned with what others were doing and not concerned enough about themselves.

This year’s version of UCLA is the exact opposite.

The second-ranked Bruins came into Las Vegas with an understandable confidence and dispatched Ohio State 86-73 on Saturday in the first game of the CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena.

“We shot with no concerns,” star freshman Lonzo Ball said. “We let other people be concerned about us.”

The Bruins (12-0) did have their hands full, though, and turned in a sloppy first half complete with 12 turnovers. They went into halftime leading 40-37.

“I think we just really trust each other no matter what,” guard Aaron Holiday said. “No matter how far down we are or how far up, we’re going to trust each other to get the job done.”

The Bruins did that, righting the ship in the second half.

“What they have a real knack of is figuring things out, and this (was) another different style,” Alford said. “Guys that were able to play the three and four spot that had different size and bodies and strength that we haven’t seen, and I thought they figured it out in the second half.”

The Bruins committed only three turnovers in the second half and eventually pulled away from the Buckeyes (8-3).

“In the first half, we were standing too much, coach told us at halftime,” Ball said. “(We) came back out, got some movement, picked up the pace and things fell into place.”

UCLA, one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses, got 20 points apiece from Holiday and Bryce Alford. Isaac Hamilton scored 17 and T.J. Leaf 15.

The Bruins finished with a four-guard lineup as they sealed the game.

“That’s the beauty of this team,” Ball said. “We’ve got a lot of different things we can go with, and it’s just another way we can get five on the court and play together.”

Ball, a dynamic freshman who has helped establish UCLA as must-see TV, scored just eight points but had his hands all over the offense.

“It’s never been about Zo. That’s what’s special about these guys is they’re selfless,” Steve Alford said. “They really trust one another, and they know whose role, what role at certain parts of the game has to be.

“I think that’s what’s really neat about Lonzo. He knows if we’ve got to go inside, he finds a way to make it a post feed. If we need a three, he finds somebody.”

Ball added nine rebounds and nine assists, helping the Bruins outrebound Ohio State 41-31.

“We had rebounding issues in the Santa Barbara game, and now we come in and play a better rebounding team here and outrebound them by 10, and I think that was a key,” Steve Alford said.

Marc Loving had 13 of his 19 points in the first half, Jae’Sean Tate scored 15 and Keith Bates-Diop 13 for the Buckeyes, who lost for the third time in five games.

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.