UCLA Flexes Muscle in Impressive Victory over USC in Pac-12 Basketball Play

The stands at the Galen Center seemed a bit emptier with each successive second-half timeout, as if the buzzer horn's high-pitched blaring contained a frequency unwelcome to USC Trojans fans, who continued to filter out in waves.

By the end of Sunday night's game between rivals UCLA and USC, there was little for the latter to cheer about.

The Bruins out-hustled, out-muscled and out-worked their opponents on the way to a comfortable 67-48 victory away from home—although when you think about it, all UCLA's games this season could be labeled "road games" as they play at the Honda Center and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum while Pauley Pavilion undergoes a long-overdue renovation.

Travis Wear led all scorers with 19 points for the Bruins. He was followed on the stat sheet by twin brother David, who added 13, and guard Lazeric Jones, who poured in 15. Travis pulled in eight rebounds, followed closely by his brother, who grabbed seven.

Gus Johnson, presiding over the FOX telecast commentary with Steve Kerr, elicited some chuckles as he repeatedly called the brothers "D" and "T".

That production made up for sophomore Tyler Lamb—so good in recent in UCLA's recent run of games—going scoreless on the night on 0-of-4 shooting.

The twins' dominance on the glass was mirrored in the overall statistics. UCLA out-rebounded the Trojans 39-17 and employed stifling defense, forcing the Trojans' leading scorer, Maurice Jones, to work for every one of his 13 points.

Jones shot 4-of-13 (30.7 percent) on the night, and USC shot 18-of-50 (36 percent) as a team.

The Bruins impressed with their offensive efficiency, using a vast array of well-timed screens and quick ball movement to free up players for open shots. Kerr made a point to inform the viewers how good the Bruins' offensive sets were on the night, calling them "NBA-like."

UCLA also hit a healthy number of mid-range jumpers, many of which came as a result of effective pump fakes on the perimeter, which continually sent USC defenders flying past and out of the equation. Jerime Anderson, Norman Powell, and Jones each hit at least one.

In the end, UCLA shot 26-of-51 from the field (51 percent), including 3-of-7 from behind the arc (42.9 percent) and 11-of-12 from the foul line (91.7 percent).

Despite some lapses in the second half, UCLA was never seriously in trouble and always kept its lead in double digits.

The win pushed UCLA's season record to 10-7 and pushed its conference total to 3-2. USC dropped to 5-13. It has yet to win in Pac-12 play, having lost its first five games.