UCLA finally has an easy night in rout of New Mexico State
The Bruins, who had lost five in a row, roll to a no-doubt-about-it 100-68 victory at Pauley Pavilion.
By David Wharton
The Los Angeles Times
December 16, 2009
New Mexico State guard Hernst Laroche, right, battles for a loose ball with UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic during the first half of a NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. CHRIS CARLSON, AP
It was an awkward-looking shot, a three-point attempt that sailed high above the rim, then somehow crashed in off the glass.
And it was an omen.
As if ignited by guard Malcolm Lee's early, unlikely basket, UCLA awakened from a long offensive slumber to cruise past New Mexico State, 100-68, Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Though the victory came against a clearly overmatched opponent, it was crucial because it ended a losing streak at five games and allowed the Bruins to smile for the first time in weeks.
"He didn't call bank," Coach Ben Howland joked of Lee's shot. "But he'll take it."
Lee begged to differ: "It was midway in the air when I called it."
UCLA (3-6) returned to life by doing all the things that had been missing. Namely, playing solid defense, rebounding and pushing upcourt, then putting the ball in the basket.
"It's really tough when you lose five games in a row," Howland said. "So just to get in the win column is a good thing for team morale."
UCLA also avoided matching its worst streak in Howland's tenure -- there were two six-game winless stretches in his first season, 2003-04.
Back then, he had former coach Steve Lavin's players on the court. This is his team, and the need to turn things around had been palpable.
"When the losing streak continues to grow," guard Jerime Anderson said before the game, "the pressure also continues to grow."
Relief came quickly by way of a run of torrid shooting in the first half, started by Lee's three-pointer.
It was a particularly good night for the guards, with Lee, Anderson and Michael Roll combining for 47 points. A couple of freshmen chipped in, Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt scoring 16 and 14 points, respectively.
At the same time, New Mexico State (3-6) did little to put up a fight, missing shots and offering up a wide variety of turnovers, throwing passes away and kicking balls out of bounds.
But not everything went smoothly for UCLA.
James Keefe, who started at center, walked off the court in the first half holding his left shoulder -- the same shoulder that required surgery for a torn labrum two years ago.
Howland said it popped out of the socket and would be evaluated by doctors today.
Things also went badly for senior forward Nikola Dragovic, who was looking to break out of a shooting slump.
Dragovic had worked extra hours on his technique this week and teammates vowed to get him better opportunities. And he did make a couple of baskets early.
Then his shots began to clang away, and he finished with nine points on three-for-nine shooting.
Otherwise, it was a promising night for the Bruins.
"They were tough defensively," New Mexico State Coach Marvin Menzies said. "We just couldn't get into a flow."
Those comments must have been music to Howland, who was careful to credit his team's defense, especially in the first half, for creating points.
"That's the stuff that's exciting," he said. "That's the stuff that is going to help you win in the Pac-10."
Lee echoed his coach's thoughts.
"A lot of my shots came off rebounds and just pushing up," he said. "That got me into the flow of the game way better."
UCLA held the Aggies to 38.9% shooting, forced at least some of their 20 turnovers and finished with 10 steals.
It all added up to a performance that should make today's film session enjoyable.
Though UCLA must prepare for a difficult matchup at Notre Dame on Saturday, Howland said his team would linger awhile over Tuesday night's game.
"It's just believing in what you're doing and executing," he said. "There will be some positive things we can build on."
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UCLA finally gets its act together
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
Pasadena Star-News
Posted: 12/15/2009 10:31:02 PM PST
New Mexico State forward Tyrone Watson, right, drives around UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic, left, and center J'mison Morgan during the first half of a NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009.CHRIS CARLSON, AP
LOS ANGELES - For eight games, UCLA could not shoot its way out of a barrel with five shotguns and a rocket launcher.
The Bruins were hitting field goals at a .415 clip, and even some of its best players were to blame.
Senior forward Nikola Dragovic, .241 percent. Sophomore guard Malcolm Lee, .379. Point guard Jerime Anderson, .348. Three starters combining for 66 of 199, or just over 33 percent.
On Tuesday, the barrel exploded.
The Bruins built a 34-point lead early in the second half and rolled to a 100-68 win over New Mexico State on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA shot 37 for 66 from the field, 7 for 14 from the 3-point line and knocked down 19 of 31 shots in the first half. The only place the Bruins struggled was from the free-throw line - as they have all season, at just 56.5 percent - where they went just 19 of 30.
Lee led five scorers in double figures with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting and had eight rebounds. Freshman forward Reeves Nelson had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench while Roll and freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt had 14 each.
The Bruins seemed as if they were just waiting for the slump to end.
"I really believe our team is a good shooting team," Anderson said in a Monday afternoon conference call. "Mike (Roll) and Nikola can shoot. (Lee) can shoot the ball really well, he just hasn't gotten many open shots. We have a lot of good shooters. We need to transfer it to the games right now. That's what the main thing is."
Finally, it happened.
But UCLA's dominating performance not only was on offense.
The Bruins limited New Mexico State to 38.9 percent shooting from the field and held leading scorer Jahmar Young, who came in averaging 19.9 points per game, to 13.
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Bruins can't lose 'em all
UCLA 100 New Mexico St. 68 They emphatically end a five-game losing streak.
By MICHAEL BECKER
The Press-Enterprise
11:33 PM PST on Tuesday, December 15, 2009
LOS ANGELES - The UCLA basketball team regained its shooting touch, and with that came the winning touch.
The Bruins made 56 percent of their shots in a 100-68 victory over New Mexico State on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion to snap a five-game losing streak that dated back to Nov. 23.
That 19-day stretch featured bleak basketball for the Bruins, who shot only 39 percent from the floor and had difficulty on the defensive end. But they looked like an entirely different outfit against the Aggies.
"We needed it bad," Coach Ben Howland said. "It's no fun to lose. So I'm just happy for our guys. It's been tough. This has been a tough stretch losing those games, playing against real good teams. I'm glad to get back at home here and play well in front of our crowd."
Five players scored in double figures, including former Riverside North star Malcolm Lee, who scored a career-high 20 points (18 in the first half). Lee scored nine of the first 11 UCLA points and spurred a 10-0 run six minutes into the game to give UCLA a 10-point lead.
The Bruins led by 21 points at halftime, built a 30-point lead five minutes into the second half and coasted down the stretch to improve to 3-6.
The Aggies had hired Coach Marvin Menzies, a 1987 UCLA graduate, because of his success as a skilled recruiter of talent. But talent is something of which the Aggies were short on Tuesday. Due partly to their offensive inability and partly to UCLA's defensive pressure, the Aggies shot just 39 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers.
It was not all good news for the Bruins, who lost forward James Keefe to a shoulder injury as he battled for position under the basket only eight minutes into the game. Keefe did not return.
Howland said Keefe's shoulder popped out of place, but was immediately popped back in. It is the same left shoulder that required labrum surgery in August 2007. Howland said he would be surprised if Keefe were ready for Saturday's game at Notre Dame.
Freshman Reeves Nelson, who suffered a corneal abrasion Dec. 6 against Kansas and still has the black eye as proof, was cut on the right side of his face by an errant elbow but returned minutes later.
"I just keep looking like a boxer more and more," Nelson said.
He finished with a career-high 16 points. Freshman Tyler Honeycutt had a career-high 14 points.
The Bruins' trip to Notre Dame and games against Colorado State and Delaware State are the last tune-ups before Pac-10 play begins.
"We just needed time to jell," Nelson said. "And I think this was a big first step to being a really good team."
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Bruins relieved long slide is over
By AL BALDERAS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
December 15, 2009 10:56 PM
LOS ANGELES - The Bruins let out a collective sigh of relief Tuesday night, moments after ending their five-game losing streak.
The last time a UCLA men's basketball team lost five consecutive games was at the end of the 2003-04 season, the first year under Coach Ben Howland.
"It has been tough but I think the rest of the team has remained real confident in our abilities," forward Reeves Nelson said. "This was a big first step in becoming a real good team."
The Bruins found it tempting to take it easy in the second half, especially after coming out for the second half with a 47-26 lead.
Freshman Tyler Honeycutt, who continues to look better with each game, said that keeping the pressure on New Mexico State was as important as the success the team achieved in the opening frame.
"We didn't want to go into the second half thinking the game was already over," he said. "We wanted to keep pushing it down their throat."
Now it's a matter of carrying the success from Tuesday's game to their final road game of the preseason.
"It's been real tough," Honeycutt said of the recent slump. "Coach told us that some people are really starting to doubt us, so it's us against the world. It's us against the referees or whoever it might be."
EXAM SCHEDULED
UCLA senior forward James Keefe will have his left shoulder examined today in an attempt to determine the severity of his injury.
Keefe was fouled in the first half of Tuesday night's 100-68 victory over New Mexico State and never returned.
Howland is concerned because it's the same shoulder Keefe injured just before the start of the Bruins' preseason practices, and the one he had surgery on in 2007.
"I would be surprised if he'll be ready for Saturday (at Notre Dame) but I hope he'll be ready in the not-too-distant future," Howland said.
Howland said that the shoulder had popped out of its socket but was pushed back into place by team physician John P. DeFiori.
IN A ZONE
The Bruins broke out the zone defense on Tuesday night — for one New Mexico State possession.
"Almost two," Howland said.
Howland hasn't given up on his plan to break out the zone defense this season.
The UCLA players have been working on the zone at practice but haven't had reason to use it.
The zone didn't make much sense against Kansas, and Howland figured it wouldn't make much of an impact in last Saturday's game against Mississippi State. The Bruins lost both games.
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UCLA finally shoots its way out of slump
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
The Daily Breeze
Posted: 12/15/2009 10:23:37 PM PST
For eight games, UCLA couldn't shoot its way out of a barrel with five shotguns and a rocket launcher.
The Bruins hit their field goals at a .415 clip, and some of their best players were to blame.
Senior forward Nikola Dragovic, 24.1 percent. Sophomore guard Malcolm Lee, 37.9. Point guard Jerime Anderson, 34.8. Three starters combining to go 66 of 199, or just more than 33 percent.
On Tuesday, the barrel exploded.
The Bruins built a 39-point lead early in the second half and rolled to a 100-68 win over New Mexico State at Pauley Pavilion to break a five-game losing streak.
UCLA shot 37 for 66 from the field and 7 for 14 from the 3-point line, knocking down 19 of 31 shots in the first half. The only place the Bruins struggled was at the free-throw line - as they have all season, at just 56.5 percent - where they hit just 19 of 30.
UCLA's hot shooting started early, with a 61.3 percent first half.
"That just gets our confidence going, once we start hitting in the beginning," said Lee, who led all scorers with 20 points. "Especially for a young team like us, we need that to happen. Our easy buckets and our easy shots came from our defense, though. We were making them force bad shots, and we were getting on the boards, getting into the fast break."
UCLA (3-6) had 19 fast-break points and 44 points in the paint, as the guards were able to push the tempo and find guys slashing in the lane.
More importantly, though, was the passing inside and out, as second and third passes around the perimeter led to open looks. One good pass led to another, and the Bruins finished with 19 assists to just 11 turnovers, tied for their best turnover margin of the season.
"The second-assist situation, a lot of people don't know about," Lee said. "That starts by rotating it. If a guy gets it in the paint, makes another pass and then recovers, most of the time that second pass is going to be what's open. That all starts with being aggressive and getting into the paint."
Even after losing starting center James Keefe just over six minutes into the game with what appears to be a separated shoulder, UCLA was still able to run the inside-out game.
Five Bruins scored in double figures, with freshman forward Reeves Nelson chipping in 16 points and eight rebounds. Michael Roll and freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt (Sylmar) each added 14 points and Anderson had 13 for UCLA, which broke a five-game losing streak, its biggest skid since head coach Ben Howland's first season in 2003-04.
But UCLA's dominating performance was not just on offense.
The Bruins limited New Mexico State (3-6) to 38.9 percent shooting from the field and held leading scorer Jahmar Young, who came in averaging 19.9 points per game, to just 13.
Never were the Bruins better than on a New Mexico State possession with just less than 13 minutes left.
UCLA jammed the paint, put pressure on the perimeter and forced three bad passes before knocking it out of bounds with 18 seconds left on the shot clock. The Aggies inbounded the ball and UCLA continued to hound them, forcing a turnover that led to an Anderson 3-pointer to go up 39.
"Our transition was amazing today," Honeycutt said. "That's where we got a lot of our points in the beginning - off of steals, rebounds, blocks. We were just pushing it."
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Bruins prevail against Aggies
By AL BALDERAS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
December 15, 2009 10:41 PM
LOS ANGELES - Another basketball game at Pauley Pavilion featured its usual dose of turnovers, poor shot selection, missed shots and a one-sided result.
This time, however, UCLA wasn't on the losing end.
It was New Mexico State (3-6) that shot 37.5 percent from the floor, allowing the Bruins to build a comfortable halftime lead.
It was New Mexico State that turned the ball over nine times in the first half and 20 times in the game.
It was New Mexico State's lack of defense that allowed the Bruins to hit the century mark in a 100-68 victory Tuesday night that ended their five-game losing streak.
The 100 points were the most scored by the Bruins since they beat Wyoming, 113-62, on Dec. 23, 2008.
Malcolm Lee led all scorers by going 7 for 8 from the field and finishing with 20 points. Fellow starters Michael Roll (14) and Jerime Anderson (13) also reached double figures. So did Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt, who came off the bench to score 16 and 14 points, respectively.
"Malcolm made four free throws early in the game and got us off to a good start," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "I thought Jerime had his best game as a Bruin. I thought Tyler Honeycutt, especially in the second half, played well for us."
The Bruins shot 56.1 percent from the field (37 for 66), their second-highest total of the season, and most of that came without James Keefe, who left the game in the first half because of an injury to his left shoulder.
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