LOS ANGELES >> For the first time in three months, it rained in Westwood.
For 40 minutes, UCLA guard Prince Ali reigned in Pauley Pavilion.
Ali hit his first eight shots, including half from 3-point range, to boost UCLA to an 80-61 rout of Hawaii before 6,062 on Wednesday night.
Ali’s career-high 23rd point came on a windmill dunk to close the scoring.
The Rainbow Warriors went 1-3 on this four-game trip to fall to 4-4. The ’Bows return home today for a much-needed break after playing eight games in 20 days. While noting the ’Bows developed collectively during this trip, Ganot said, “1-3 is 1-3. I don’t want our team being OK with that.”
For the first time this season, the ’Bows opened in a 2-3 zone, an acknowledgment of the Bruins’ height advantage at every starting position.
“It’s a pick-your-poison kind of thing sometimes with these kinds of teams,” Ganot said. “And when you play them straight up, when you have 6-6 and 6-8 at the (off guard) and (wing), and your hands are here and they can shoot over the top.”
The Bruins featured three players — Kris Wilkes, Moses Brown and Jaylen Hands — who are projected as first-round selections in the 2019 NBA Draft. But it was Ali, a fourth-year junior, who sparked the Bruins early. Ali swished two 3s — one from each wing — to vault the Bruins to a 6-0 lead.
The ’Bows, who turned the ball over three times in the first 61 seconds, eventually fell behind, 14-3.
“When they’re making 3s, and we’re not really getting possessions, a good team will do that to you and take advantage, and they did.”
The ’Bows proved to be gritty, cutting the deficit to 20-15. But Hands hit a jumper, then fed Wilkes for an open 3. After two reserves — Chris Smith and Jules Bernard — buried 3s, the Bruins regained dominance. In the second half, the ’Bows whittled a 25-point deficit to 16, but that was not nearly enough.
“We’re never going to quit,” UH post Jack Purchase said. “We’re always going to play hard. Tonight, we showed that a little bit. We had little runs. We came back. If I made a couple more shots, if some of the other guys made a couple more shots, it could have been a closer game.”
Purchase said Pauley’s backdrop — the ’Bows’ afternoon shoot-around session was their only pregame workout in the spacious arena — was not a factor. But the depth perception, of the Bruins’ bench, was a contributor. “They brought guys off the bench who were knocking down shots,” Purchase said. “There was no dropoff when they went to their bench. … They’ve got a good one through eight, one through 10.”
NBADraft.net projects Smith, who hit two 3s and scored eight points, to be selected in the first round of the 2020 draft. Power forward Jalen Hill, who started the first six UCLA games, was sent to the reserve list with Cody Riley’s return to health.
“You have to give them credit,” Ganot said of the Bruins. “They shot it well. We had a couple lapses early. They set the tone early, and this time they set it with their shooting. Obviously, we didn’t withstand it well.”
The Bruins hit seven of their first 10 3-point shots. Prince, who entered with 26.9-percent accuracy on treys, made his first five.
“We didn’t get a hand to their shots,” Purchase said.
The Bruins were able to launch an all-points attack. Wilkes, who finished with 16 points, is an accomplished scorer on drives, mid-range shots and 3s. Hands, the point guard, is equally fond of initiating the offense from the top of the key or the wing. Brown prefers to loiter near the rim for putbacks, alley-oops or short jumpers off spin moves. Brown, who is 7 feet 1, has a 74-inch wing span and 91⁄4-foot standing reach.
The ’Bows rotated three 7-foot freshmen to help 6-8 Zigmars Raimo defend the low post. Owen Hulland, who is regarded as a stretch player, showed surprising skill on a drive past Brown for a reverse layup. Hulland finished with a team-high 14 points.
