Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images

Players on the Mississippi Valley State bench look on as UCLA romps the Delta Devils 70-29 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

The Delta Devils shot 22 percent (8-of-36) in the half — an opponent season low against the Bruins. They were nearly even with UCLA in offensive rebounds, but got clobbered 19-6 on the defensive glass, and missed all nine of their 3-point attempts.

The game’s only suspense occurred in the opening minutes of the second half when the ball got stuck behind the backboard. Referee Bryan Kersey tried a few times to dislodge it using another ball and got booed when it didn’t budge.

“That’s a difficult play, but we worked on that,” Green joked. “Our whole plan was to delay the game. I was hoping they would be a little bit distracted.”

Hardly. The 6-foot-10 Love walked over and tried it, needing three tosses to knock the ball loose. He shook hands with Kersey, the crowd cheered and Love walked away smiling.

“He told me afterward I showed him up,” Love said.

Love’s trademark outlet pass was on display, too. He hit Westbrook for a neat layup, James Keefe dunked off a give-and-go, Darren Collison sank a 3-pointer as the Bruins scored 13 unanswered points for a 53-19 lead.

Love just missed his 21st double-double with nine rebounds, helping the Bruins grab a season-high 52 rebounds to 34 for the Delta Devils.

Keefe started for the Bruins in place of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who sprained his left ankle in last week’s Pac-10 tournament. Mbah a Moute warmed up and was available, but clearly there was no need to use him.

“I thought about it and I felt comfortable we would be able to get this one without him,” said coach Ben Howland, adding that Mbah a Moute would start Saturday.

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