Friday, November 27, 2009

Portland roasts UCLA on Turkey Day, 74-47

It was ugly. It was brutal. And that's after only watching a few minutes of the 2nd half. I don't have cable, so I was watching the game stream via bruinville.com. And the low resolution made watching this massacre twice as hideous.

Unfortunately, this is what UCLA Basketball looks like in 2009-2010. Hopefully, the boys will grow and compete better in the future. And I have faith in Coach Ben Howland to lead this team.

Oh, what could have been! If Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday and Russell Westbrook had only stayed to finish their four years at UCLA, things could have been alot better. But those guys are not with us anymore, so we move on.

Back to the present...as this blog tries to keep current on all things UCLA Basketball, I need to post a write-up of the Thanksgiving shellacking. This is the one and only write-up I am "linking" on here.
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Portland 74, UCLA 47
Associated Press
espn.com
Nov 26, 2009

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jared Stohl and T.J. Campbell scored 15 points each as Portland clobbered UCLA 74-47 Thursday night in the first round of the 76 Classic.

The Pilots (4-0) will play No. 22 Minnesota in the semifinals Friday.

Portland, coming off a seven-point win over Oregon, never trailed. It was UCLA's largest margin of defeat since losing 79-48 at Oregon on March 1, 2003.

Malcolm Lee had 14 points and five rebounds and Drew Gordon 10 points for the Bruins (2-2), who will play No. 12 Butler in a consolation game Friday.

The Pilots, picked second in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches poll, knifed through UCLA's defense with ease, scoring off the dribble and making 3-pointers.

Entering the game having made 52.1 percent of their 3-point attempts, the Pilots continued making a barrage of long-distance shots to bury the Bruins. Portland sank 11 of 19 3-pointers and shot 54.2 percent overall.

Conversely, UCLA shot 32.7 percent overall and 21.7 percent on 3-pointers. The Bruins converted just 6 of 14 free throws.

The 47 points were the fewest UCLA had scored since a 55-48 loss to Washington State on Feb. 5, 2004.

UCLA was so inept on both ends of the court that a fan sitting across from the Portland bench yelled late in the second half, "Come on, you're embarrassing us!" and, "Come on, have some pride! Let's go!"

Stohl made all five of his 3-point attempts to move up to third on the Pilots' career list for 3-point baskets, while Nik Raivio contributed 13 points and five assists.

UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic rejoined the team after serving a two-game suspension. Dragovic, who finished with three points, was suspended after he was arrested in an assault case. He was reinstated Tuesday.

The Pilots made 6 of 8 3-pointers and shot 57.1 percent from the field en route to a 36-19 halftime lead.

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