Lonzo Ball sets UCLA assist record in NCAA Touament win

SACRAMENTO >> Freshman Lonzo Ball shined in his NCAA Touament debut, breaking the UCLA single-season assist record in the team’s 97-80 win over Kent State in the first round of the touament on Friday in Sacramento.

Ball passed Larry Drew II for UCLA’s single-season assist record with 256 on the season after recording three against Kent State. Drew set the record in 2012-13 with 256. The freshman played through a right hip bruise suffered late in the first half and finished with 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and four rebounds.

After jumping to receive a pass, Ball was undercut by a defender and fell hard to the court. Already nursing a sprained thumb, he stayed in the game, but looked uncomfortable moving on the court at times.

Ball’s injury could be another blow to UCLA’s already short roster. The team’s normal eight-man rotation was trimmed by one Friday as freshman Ike Anigbogu was sidelined with a sprained foot. He is day-to-day, according to a UCLA spokesperson, and the Bruins are hopeful he will be available for the second round against sixth-seeded Cincinnati on Sunday.

UCLA’s two star freshmen, Ball and TJ Leaf, showed no stage fright during their NCAA Touament debuts as they combined for 26 points in the first half. Leaf scored 16 by the break, including two that came on a soaring one-handed dunk. He finished with a team-high 23 points and six rebounds.

Ball tied the school assist record at 2:07 left in the first half, but the Golden Flashes kept the Bruins scoreless until the break. Kent State used a 13-4 run to shrink UCLA’s 17-lead to just eight by the break.

The Golden Flashes closed the gap to five in the second half, but UCLA pulled away with hot shooting. The Bruins drained 12 straight field goals as the lead ballooned to 24 with less than three minutes left.

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