UCLA basketball: Bruins crush UC Davis by 43 points

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UCLA evened its record at 5-5 with a dominating 82-39 win against UC Davis on Saturday.

But this was as much of a game as I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter is actually butter.

Speaking of butter, UCLA’s performance at the Honda Center was about as smooth against the Aggies (1-9), whose only win this season came against Division III UC Santa Santa Cruz.

It’s UCLA’s largest margin of victory since beating Wyoming, 113-62, in 2008.

UCLA crushed UC Davis in the first half, leading by as much as 35.

The Aggies actually outscored UCLA 12-11 to start the second half.

But UCLA answered with a quick 20-0 run to retake control.

The Bruins’ lead stretched past the 40-point barrier on a Joshua Smith layup with 8:37 left in the second half, which put his team ahead, 68-27.

With Travis Wear, UCLA’s second-leading scorer, out for a second straight game because of a skin infection on his left foot, his twin brother David Wear stepped up and scored a career-high 15 points.

Center Smith also had a strong game, recording his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. He also had three blocks.

Guard Tyler Lamb scored nine and recorded career-highs with seven assists and nine rebounds.

UCLA shot 32 for 61 UC Davis shot 13 for 55.

The Aggies were led in scoring by Tyler Les, who had nine points.

UCLA faces UC Irvine (2-8) on Tuesday at the Sports Arena.

-- Baxter Holmes