Field Level Media
Dec 14, 2019
Prentiss Hubb scored 20 points and Dane Goodwin added 16 off the bench as Notre Dame cruised to an easy 75-61 nonconference victory Saturday over visiting UCLA.
T.J. Gibbs scored 15 points and John Mooney added 14 as the Fighting Irish (8-3) never trailed in the 50th all-time matchup between the programs. UCLA still holds 29-21 advantage in the series.
Chris Smith had 10 points for UCLA (7-4), which did not have a scorer in double digits until 4:55 remained in the game. Notre Dame's defense held UCLA to 30.0 percent shooting in the first half and 34.9 percent in the game.
Notre Dame made eight 3-pointers in the first half while opening a 31-24 advantage at the break that was only that close because the Bruins went on a 7-0 run to finish the half. Goodwin scored 11 points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Fighting Irish went on their own 7-0 run to open the second half and were not threatened while winning their second consecutive game after consecutive defeats.
Notre Dame was 15 of 39 (38.5 percent) from 3-point range in the game, while UCLA went 7 of 16 from distance.
Jamie Jaquez Jr. and Prince Ali scored nine points each for UCLA. Bruins freshman Shareef O'Neal grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Bruins lost despite a 48-40 rebounding advantage. UCLA lost for the first time since falling to No. 3 Michigan State at the Maui Invitational.
Mooney grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for the Fighting Irish, just over his season average of 13.2, which is best in the nation. It was Mooney's eighth double-double in 10 games this season and the 29th of his career.
Despite the long-time rivalry between the teams, the Bruins were playing in their first game at Notre Dame since 2009. It was just the 12th time in their 50 meetings that neither UCLA or Notre Dame were ranked nationally.
--Field Level Media