UCLA
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Pepperdine
1-1,0-0WCC
No. 12 UCLA Earns 74-63 Victory Over Pepperdine
November 07, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 12-ranked UCLA men's basketball team earned a 74-63 win over Pepperdine on Friday evening inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.
Four Bruins scored at least 10 points, led by a 15-point and five-block effort by junior Xavier Booker. Senior Donovan Dent had 12 points and four assists, Skyy Clark registered 11 points and four rebounds, and Eric Dailey Jr. had 10 points in his first game back from a minor knee injury.
"I felt we got a lot better tonight, thanks to Pepperdine," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "They got some big strong guys who are well-coached. It was good to get Eric Dailey back out there. Obviously, it goes without saying that Xavier Booker is the MVP of the game. Our guards are a lot better than they played tonight. I don't worry about their talent level. I'm really happy to see the way Xavier Booker played. I know he's got it in him, but he's just got to keep building up his stamina and turn up his motor."
As a team, UCLA shot 48.1 percent from the field (25-for-52) and had assists on 11 of 25 made baskets. The Bruins were 5-for-21 from 3-point distance and made 19 of 26 free throws.
Pepperdine (1-1) was led by Aaron Clark who finished with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Javon Cooley also poured in 17 points for the Waves.
Booker made an impact on the defensive end with a career-high blocks and also grabbed a team-high five rebounds in the win. Four days after playing a career-high 29 minutes versus Eastern Washington, Booker eclipsed that minutes total with 30 minutes on Friday.
Impressing in his return from injury was Dailey Jr., who knocked down a pair of three-pointers in his 10-point showing. Trent Perry and Tyler Bilodeau each contributed nine points.
Jamar Brown reached a significant milestone in the contest, eclipsing the 1,000-career point plateau in NCAA basketball contests. Brown spent the past two seasons at UMKC, where he played in 62 total contests. He tallied six points and five rebounds in his 12 minutes off the bench on Friday against Pepperdine.
UCLA came out firing in the second half, opening with a 7-0 run behind a Dailey Jr. triple and a smooth drive from Dent. Booker added a three-pointer to reach double figures and extend the lead to 16. Pepperdine responded with four straight makes, but a Clark three and a Dent hoop-and-harm helped UCLA maintain a 15-point cushion at the under-12 media timeout, an important stretch that ultimately sealed the result for the Bruins.
The Waves trimmed the deficit to 11 with just over three minutes remaining, but Booker secured the win with another three-point play, lifting the Bruins to a 74-63 victory.
UCLA opened the game with back-to-back three-pointers from Dailey Jr. and Clark, setting the tone early. Dailey Jr., making his season debut after missing the opener due to injury, helped spark the offense while Clark added a jumper to score five of the Bruins' first eight points.
Pepperdine kept pace with three triples of its own, taking a four-point lead at the 13:04 mark.
The momentum shifted when Bilodeau knocked down a transition jumper, followed by Dailey Jr. intercepting the inbounds pass and finishing through contact for a three-point play that gave UCLA the lead. That sequence ignited a 15-0 run, as the Bruins held the Waves scoreless for over five minutes. During the stretch, Pepperdine went 0-for-6 with five turnovers and endured a field goal drought of more than seven minutes.
Booker capped his seven-point first half with a three-point play that pushed UCLA's lead into double digits. The Bruins led 37-28 at the break.
Pepperdine's visit to Pauley Pavilion included a return of two former UCLA staff members. Pepperdine head coach Ed Schilling served as a UCLA assistant coach from 2013-17, and Pepperdine assistant coach Tyus Edney starred in the Bruins' backcourt from 1991-95 before he returned in 2010 in an operations role on the UCLA coaching staff.
The Bruins will play their third consecutive home contest on Monday night, hosting West Georgia at 7 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game on Monday at Pauley Pavilion will be available for viewing on B1G+.
Next Friday night, the Bruins will head down the 405 freeway to face Arizona at Intuit Dome. Game time on Friday, Nov. 14, is set for 7 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game against the Wildcats will be nationally aired on Peacock.
