LOS ANGELES - David Jackson and Jerryck Owens-Murrey led the Western Illinois men's basketball team with 10-points each as it fell to No. 8 UCLA 77-52 at Pauley Pavilion.

A Josh Rivers three-pointer brought the Leathernecks (3-7) as close as they could get in the game at 4-3. Back-to-back three pointers for the Bruins (10-1) allowed them to build their lead to nine-points at 14-5. Owens-Murrey cut the lead to seven points as he hit his first jumper off the bench with 13:23 left in the first half. However, the Bruins would continue to shoot well from beyond the arc as Michael Roll and Kevin Love connected from downtown to extended their lead to 24-7 with 9:35 left to play in the first half. UCLA would continue to build on its lead and took a 42-19 advantage into the break.

“I thought that we respected them a little too much,” said Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas. “We didn't come out with the heart and passion that we needed to play with. We got knocked around a little bit and then we missed some shots and got behind with some unforced turnovers that hurt us a little bit. Once we calmed down, it made things a little bit easier for us.”

Western could do little to silence the shooting of UCLA in the first half, as the Bruins were 13-of-21 (62%) from the floor, and 5-of-9 (56%) from beyond the arc. The Leathernecks struggled early on from the floor and finished 9-of-27 (33%) from the field in the opening frame. Western did not attempt a single free throw in the first half, while UCLA connected on 11-of-13 from the line.

“We unfortunately were not able to get to the foul line which frustrated me a little bit,” added Thomas. “As much as we were attacking the basket, I thought we were going to get to the line some more. We didn't shoot a free throw the entire first half and that bothered me. But I told our guys to be more aggressive and it paid off.“

David Nurse started the Leathernecks on the right foot as he hit a three-pointer on the first possession out of the locker room and cut the lead back to 20-points. The Bruins stretched their lead to 57-29 before James Washington hit a three pointer with 14:09 left in the game. Washington nearly cut another three points off that deficit as he picked off the ensuing in-bounds pass. The Leathernecks would not be able to cut the lead below 21 the rest of the way.

The second half saw Western improve from the field as it finished 20-of-54 (37%). The Leathernecks battled even on the boards with the Bruins, as each team grabbed 30 total rebounds. David DuBois led Western on the glass with seven total rebounds.

“One thing I wanted to do was come out and play hard. I think we did a good job of that tonight and I was proud of that aspect,” said Thomas of his teams effort. “This is the best team that we will play this year. We have to give them credit for that. We knew it was going to be a physical game and our guys hung in there through the second half. That's one thing you want them to do is play hard.”

The Leathernecks return to Macomb for two-straight games, the first coming Saturday, December 22, when Kennesaw State comes in for a 1 p.m. contest.