UCLA gears up for PAC-10 play

Bruins take momentum into Pac-10 competition

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Nelson has career-high 21 points as UCLA wraps up nonconference play.

By Frank Burlison Staff Writer
The Long Beach Press-Telegram
Posted: 12/27/2009 10:19:38 PM PST

It's indicative of the way November and December have gone for UCLA's basketball team that consecutive victories make up the Bruins' longest winning streak.

Here's the beauty of the move from nonconference to Pacific-10 play: the tabulating of wins and losses starts fresh.

"We're going to forget about those 12 games and start 0-0," senior Michael Roll said Sunday about his team's 5-7 record and the foray into conference play that begins in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday after the Bruins ho-hummed their way past visiting Delaware State, 66-49, in front of a Pauley gathering of 7,244.

The victory, coupled with the 75-63 decision over Colorado State on Tuesday, gave (Coach) Ben Howland's team back-to-back wins for only the second time this season.

UCLA's Reeves Nelson was too assertive, too strong and too quick for the opposing post players Sunday while hitting seven of eight shots from the field and seven of 10 from the free-throw line for a career-high 21 points.

It was the kind of performance that keeps him firmly on the short list of leading candidates for Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.

But, naturally, the going will get a lot tougher - down low and everywhere else - within conference action.

The Bruins don't have long to wait for that confirmation. They're due back in Pauley Pavilion at noon today to begin preparing for the Arizona State Sun Devils, who will bring 10-3 record into the building for Thursday's 1:30 conference opener.

"A whole new season begins Thursday afternoon," Howland said after his team extended a 19-point advantage at intermission to 29, at 51-22, with 12+ minutes remaining before letting things get a tad sloppy down the stretch.

"We've won two in a row and it's nice any time you can take a winning streak into conference. For the first 15 minutes today, I thought we played very good defense. They were very patient on offense but we didn't break down or do any gambling."

The 4-6 Hornets - who were swatted, 76-34, by the Sun Devils in Tempe on Dec.12 - were outscored, 14-0, over a seven-minute stretch of a first half in which they hit just seven of 23 shots from the field.

The Bruins were a model of offensive efficiency in the first 20 minutes, hitting 14 of 26 shots from the field and eight of 11 from the free-throw line to go with nine assists and only three turnovers.

Sophomore point guard Jerime Anderson, who had seven assists and five turnovers Tuesday, had five assists and didn't turn the ball over in the first half Sunday.

He had six turnovers after intermission but Howland was willing to cut him some slack.

"Maybe he got a little complacent," Howland said. "But he did have six steals and six assists.

"If he had limited the turnovers, it would have been a great game (for Anderson)."

On an afternoon when Roll, who took a 14.2 scoring average and .476 shooting percentage into the game, was a frigid 1-for-7 from the field and sophomore Malcolm Lee (15.2 and .443) scored only seven points and was 3-for-7 from the field, Nelson and fellow freshman Tyler Honeycutt combined for nearly half the team's scoring.

Nelson got 12 of his points during the 13 minutes he played in the second half while Honeycutt got seven of his 11 points off the bench before intermission.

The 6-foot-8 Honeycutt, who missed the first six games while recovering from a sore shin, was 5-for-7 from the field after hitting just eight of 29 before Sunday.

He also knocked in his first 3-pointer as a Bruin four seconds before intermission.

"I had plenty of time, probably five seconds by myself," Honeycutt said. "That was a good way to end the half."

Of course, it all begins anew in a few days.

"You have to bring it every night," Roll said. "But I'm confident we will do well. The chemistry is a lot better; we're having more fun and the morale is a lot better. I'm excited."
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Up next

Arizona State (10-3) at UCLA (5-7), Thursday, 1:30p.m., Prime, 570AM