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LOS ANGELES – Freshman forward Nikola Kusturica stepped onto the court of Pauley Pavilion for the first time Monday night and gave the Bruins faithful their newest hero.
The Serbian sensation wasted no time introducing himself with a display of near-otherworldly dominance that left the crowd and his No. 22 UCLA (2-0) teammates amazed, the UNF Ospreys exhausted and head coach Mick Cronin pleased.
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“Obviously, Nikola got hot offensively, which probably rattled them [UNF]. I know it would rattle me if I was watching it,” Cronin said. “That’s really the story today. That time was coming for him.”
UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry celebrates during their game against the North Florida Ospreys on Friday, November 6, 2026, at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.
Dakota Gray – The Sporting Tribune
UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry celebrates during their game against the North Florida Ospreys on Friday, November 6, 2026, at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.
Kusturica was everywhere on the floor. In the first half alone, he went a perfect 9- from the field, 4-4 from three point range and 4-4 from the free throw line to rack up 26 points. If that wasn’t enough, Kusturica added five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the first half to punctuate one of the most dominate in-game stretches of Bruin basketball in recent memory.
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“I just kept shooting. I see the ball go in and I just kept shooting,” Kusturica said of his massive performance.
First half beatdown
For the first five minutes of the game, the Ospreys put up a fight. They even took the lead at one point early in the first half with an 8-0 run. But what advantage they held early on was fleeting at best, because what followed was 9:43 long 28-3 run by UCLA, led by Kusturica, that featured 11-straight field goals at one point.
That thrashing clipped the Osprey’s wings quite firmly, but the Bruins, nor Kusturica, were done piling on quite yet.
Standing at 6’9, there was little the Ospreys could do…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/freshman-phenom-leads-way-no-064937049.html
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Publish date : 2026-11-07 06:49:00
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