UCLA routs UNC Asheville in first round of NCAA Tournament

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Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points and UCLA raced out to a fast start and never looked back in a 86-53 victory over UNC Asheville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

The second-seeded Bruins (30-5) scored the first 14 points of the game and rolled from there. Amari Bailey also scored 17 points and David Singleton had 11.

UCLA advanced to play seventh-seeded Northwestern in the second round of the West Region. The Wildcats beat Boise State 75-67 earlier in the day.

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Amari Bailey #5 of the UCLA Bruins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. #24 of the UCLA Bruins embrace during the second half of a game against the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 16, 2023 in Sacramento, California.  (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Drew Pember scored 13 points for the 15th-seeded Bulldogs (27-8). UNC Asheville, which won the Big South regular-season and tournament titles, has now lost all five times the school has advanced to the round of 64.

The Bruins apparently took notice of what happened earlier in the day at this site when fellow Pac-12 No. 2 seed Arizona was ousted by Princeton 59-55.

UCLA made sure this game was never in doubt, making its first five shots and taking a 14-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Singleton just 3:06 into the game.

Jaquez scored inside to give the Bruins their biggest lead of the first half at 34-11 and they coasted from there.

Amari Bailey #5 of the UCLA Bruins reacts during the second half of a game against the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball