Cody Riley had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead UCLA to an 81-62 win over Denver in a nonconference game Sunday at Pauley Pavilion at Westwood, Calif.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Prince Ali had 11 points for the Bruins (7-3).
Riley made 9 of 13 shots from the field and Jaquez was 7 of 12. They shot 64 percent from the field making 16 shots while their 10 teammates combined for 12 made field goals.
UCLA was efficient offensively with 14 assists compared to only nine turnovers.
Denver (4-6) was led by Ade Murkey's 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Jase Townsend added 10 points.
The Bruins scored the game's first 11 points and never trailed. Denver did not score until 3:44 into the game.
A 3-pointer by Townsend capped an 11-2 run by the Pioneers to cut the lead to 13-11 with 14:32 remaining in the half.
The game remained close until the closing two minutes of the half when UCLA scored seven unanswered points. Jaquez's 3-pointer with 5 seconds left gave the Bruins a 43-32 lead at halftime.
UCLA led by double digits the entire second half with the lead mounting to 19 points on four different occasions until the Bruins finally led by more than 20 points on two free throws by Jake Kyman with 1:16 left in regulation.
The Bruins outrebounded Denver 41-27, which led to a 40-22 advantage of points in the paint.
Denver had 17 turnovers. UCLA outscored the Pioneers 26-9 in points-off-turnovers. Denver also struggled from the free-throw line, shooting 13 of 22.
UCLA next plays at Notre Dame on Saturday while Denver hosts New Mexico State on Tuesday in the Summit League/WAC Challenge.
--Field Level Media
