Liberty Flames vs UCLA Bruins Match Player Stats On Dec 29, 2018

Junior guard Caleb Homesley scored 21 points and senior guard Lovell Cabbil Jr. added 15 as visiting Liberty cruised to a 73-58 nonconference victory Saturday over UCLA, beating a Pac-12 Conference opponent for the first time.

Liberty (11-4) used an 11-0 run between the end of the first half and the start of the second half to gain control and frustrate a sloppy UCLA team that committed 24 turnovers.

Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes scored 14 points, 11 in the second half for the Bruins (7-6), who also lost on their own floor to Belmont this season. UCLA has lost four consecutive games.

Liberty took a 23-22 lead with 5:51 remaining in the first half on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Darius McGhee and never trailed again, ending the first half with a 17-6 advantage for a 34-26 lead. UCLA tied a season low for first-half points.

Trailing by double digits most of the second half, UCLA cut the Liberty lead to six points at 56-50 before Homesley hit a 3-pointer with 5:15 remaining. It started a 7-0 Liberty run and the Flames held on easily from there.

Liberty entered with a defense that had given up just 61.5 points per game, 16th best in the country, and held the Bruins to 20-of-51 shooting (39.2 percent), including 6 of 22 (27.3 percent) from 3-point range.

Liberty took advantage of UCLA's inability to take care of the ball, holding a 32-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

UCLA's sophomore starting guard duo of Wilkes and Jalen Hands had a combined three points in the first half on 1-of-8 shooting. Hands did not register his first points until making a 3-pointer with 8:42 remaining and finished with eight points.

Freshman center Moses Brown scored 11 points, all in the first half for UCLA.

UCLA used its significant size advantage to outrebound Liberty 44-27, but the Flames led 34-28 in points in the paint.

Liberty, which rebounded from a defeat to Austin Peay in the St. Pete Shootout, tied a school record for most victories during the nonconference portion of their schedule. They are now 1-2 all-time against Pac-12 teams.

Liberty will open Atlantic Sun Conference play next on Jan. 5 at Florida Gulf Coast. UCLA will limp into Pac-12 play on Thursday at home against Stanford.

--Field Level Media