Though going. UCLA forward Reeves Nelson, right, collides with UC Irvine guard Darren Moore, left, as he goes to the basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010, in Los Angeles. UCLA won 74-73.UCLA men's basketball team sweats it out again, but wins
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
dailybreeze.com
Posted: 12/23/2010 11:42:40 PM PST
The good news for UCLA: Coach Ben Howland did not cancel Christmas.
But Howland's players feared he would have had the Bruins not outlasted UC Irvine on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Two days after the Bruins needed a second-half surge to come from behind to defeat Montana State, UCLA eked out another win on its home court, defeating the Anteaters, 74-73, after watching a 15-point lead disappear.
The Bruins picked up their fifth consecutive win but needed every last second to seal it, with poor free-throw shooting down the stretch nearly proving costly.
UCLA missed six of eight free throws in the final minute after the Anteaters crept back into the game, and the final miss almost sealed the Bruins' fate.
After UCI guard Darren Moore banked in a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to cut UCLA's lead to one, freshman guard Tyler Lamb got the inbound pass and was immediately fouled.
He narrowly missed the first free throw and the second attempt caromed into the arms of Moore, who sprinted down the court with the ball but was trapped in the corner, unable to get a shot off.
"That wasn't an easy game," Howland said. "Hopefully we learn from these experiences, we get up there and make our foul shots. If those guys step up down the stretch, we're not coming down to the last second with them having the ball."
It was just about the only Bruins stop in crunch time as the team severely missed the services of leading scorer and rebounder Tyler Honeycutt.
The Bruins backcourt came to the rescue.
Junior guards Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones each scored 20 points, a season-
high for Jones, with Lee exploding in the first half.
Lee was 7-for-12 shooting, hitting four of eight 3-pointers as he got hot early against UCI, which started off in man-to-man defense before switching to a zone.
Lee had 14 first-half points before UCLA headed into the locker room, Lee leading the team in scoring for the second straight game after scoring 18 in the team's 75-59 win over the Bobcats on Tuesday.
"The zone just slowed down everybody," Lee said. "When they were in man, it was a lot more fluid. I noticed about their zone, the difference between them and Montana State, their zone was a lot more compact. A lot of times when our big guys got it, they couldn't turn or do anything. There weren't a lot of driving gaps."
UCLA guards were unable to do work in the lane, so they had to look outside.
The Bruins hit 10 of 20 3-pointers - four each for Lee and Jones - but the team's biggest offensive play on Thursday might have come from another guard.
With 7 minutes, 36 seconds left in the game, backup point guard Jerime Anderson found an opening in the right corner and buried a 3 right after UCI cut the Bruins' lead to five at 63-58, the closest margin since just more than three minutes into the game.
In what is becoming a familiar refrain, the Bruins said after the game that they took the Anteaters lightly.
UCLA was sloppy on offense, committing 17 turnovers, and sloppier on defense, letting UCI hit from all angles, four Anteaters scoring in double figures.
"With this game, we had our opportunities, we had the lead, the only thing it came to, they played harder than we did," said freshman center Joshua Smith, who had 14 points and eight rebounds. "They just went for the loose balls, executed, got and-ones. We were fortunate to get the win."
Fortunate to get the win in their last tuneup before Pac-10 play begins Wednesday against Washington State at Pauley Pavilion.
Fortunate to get the win, and fortunate to get Christmas.
"It would've been an absolutely horrible Christmas around the Howland household had we lost this game," Howland said.
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UCLA guard Lazeric Jones (11) battles past UC Irvine guard Chris McNealy (5) for a basket on a fast break during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010, in Los Angeles. UCLA won 74-73.UCLA hangs on for 74-73 victory against UC Irvine
Malcom Lee and Lazeric Jones score 20 points each, and the Bruins beat the Anteaters despite problems at the free-throw line in the final minute.
December 23, 2010|By Ben Bolch
The Los Angeles Times
Malcolm Lee didn't want to think about what might have happened had UC Irvine executed a little more crisply on its final possession.
"We probably would have had practice on Christmas Day," the UCLA guard said.
The Bruins headed home for the holidays as scheduled, but they will have plenty to ponder after nearly squandering a five-point lead in the final minute of a 74-73 victory over the Anteaters on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA missed six of eight free throws in the final 51 seconds, opening the door for UC Irvine to rally from a 72-67 deficit.
The Anteaters had a chance to win after Tyler Lamb missed two free throws with six seconds left and the Bruins leading by a point, but Chris McNealy could not get a shot off before the buzzer.
"It would have been an absolutely horrible Christmas around the Howland household had we lost this game," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.
Lee and Lazeric Jones scored 20 points apiece for the Bruins (8-4), who held on with leading scorer Tyler Honeycutt sidelined by a sprained right shoulder.
"If those guys step up and make their foul shots down the stretch," Howland said, "we're not coming down to the last second with them having the ball."
UCLA's late problems at the line began when guard Jerime Anderson missed twice before Jones fouled Patrick Rembert on a spinning layup. Rembert made his free throw to complete the three-point play and pull the Anteaters (6-6) to within 72-70. UC Irvine then nearly forced a turnover in the backcourt before fouling Jones, who missed the first free throw and made the second, extending the Bruins' lead to three points.
UCLA appeared to be in good shape when Eric Wise missed a driving layup and Reeves Nelson got the rebound. The Anteaters fouled Nelson and he made one of two free throws with 14 seconds left to make it 74-70.
But Darren Moore banked in a three-pointer with seven seconds left and UC Irvine fouled Lamb. The freshman guard missed both of his free throws with six seconds to play.
Moore got the rebound and fed Rembert, whose pass inside to McNealy was too late for any heroics. The Bruins walked off the court with their fifth consecutive victory, albeit their shakiest triumph of the season.
UCLA seemed out of sorts from the opening tip, with Nelson starting the game on the bench because, Howland said, he was 10 minutes late to a shootaround after getting caught in traffic.
Nelson had eight points and seven rebounds but wasn't as aggressive as usual, taking only five shots.
The Bruins had hoped to clean up some things before opening Pacific 10 Conference play Wednesday against Washington State, but they committed 17 turnovers and were outscored in the paint, 28-26.
Wise had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Pavol Losonsky had 15 points for the Anteaters, who shot 56.3% in the second half while rallying from a 14-point deficit.
"A lot of times they played harder than we did," said UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith, who had 14 points. "They went for the loose balls, they executed, they were getting and-ones. We were fortunate to get a win."
The program distributed at the game featured UCLA's freshman class on the cover, including a smiling Matt Carlino standing next to Howland. The shooting guard could have given the Bruins some much-needed depth against UC Irvine had he not left the team two weeks ago. He later announced that he was transferring to Brigham Young.
Howland had said Carlino's departure would hurt his thin team if the Bruins suffered an injury, and four players logged at least 26 minutes against the Anteaters. But the coach said the Bruins couldn't simply shrug off the sloppy showing because they were short-handed without Honeycutt and Carlino.
"Other guys have to step up," Howland said.
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UCLA guard Malcolm Lee reacts to a missed shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UC Irvine, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010, in Los Angeles.UCLA BASKETBALL: Lee helps Bruins survive, 74-73
10:00 PM PST on Thursday, December 23, 2010
Long Beach Press-Enterprise
From News Services
LOS ANGELES - Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones scored 20 points apiece to lead UCLA to a 74-73 victory over UC Irvine Thursday night.
The Bruins led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but then had to hold off a late run by the Anteaters to preserve their fifth consecutive victory.
Darren Moore cut the Bruins' lead to 74-73 with a three-pointer that banked in with 7.4 seconds remaining.
UCLA's Tyler Lamb, who replaced the injured Tyler Honeycutt in the starting lineup, missed two free throws with 6.2 seconds to go, giving UC Irvine a chance to win it.
Patrick Rembert dribbled down the court but was trapped by UCLA's defense toward the left corner. He threw a last-ditch pass to Chris McNealy, but time ran out before Irvine could get a shot.
"It would have been an absolutely horrible Christmas around the Howland household had we lost this game," UCLA coach Ben Howland said, lamenting the poor free throw shooting near the end by several players.
Lee, a former Riverside North star, and Jones provided just enough offense to help the Bruins (8-4) get by without Honeycutt, who is their leading scorer and rebounder. Both made four three-pointers.
Honeycutt suffered a sprained right shoulder Monday against Montana State.
Former Riverside King star Eric Wise led the Anteaters (6-6) with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. It's just his second game back since missing six of seven games with a strained hip flexor.
UCLA is 5-0 against the Big West.
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UCLA holds on to edge UC Irvine
Published: Dec. 23, 2010
Updated: Dec. 24, 2010 12:40 a.m.
By SCOTT M. REID
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Los Angeles – UCLA coach Ben Howland would like a closer for Christmas.Actually five of them would be nice.
UCLA survived another all-too-close for comfort adventure Thursday night, squeaking past UC Irvine, 74-73, at Pauley Pavilion.
The Anteaters, who led only briefly in the game's opening two minutes, had a chance for the upset in the final seconds thanks to the Bruins' incompetency at the foul line.
UCLA freshman guard Tyler Lamb missed a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds left to give UCI the ball and a final shot at a victory.
But the Bruins trapped UCI guard Mike Wilder in the left corner, and by the time Wilder found Chris McNealy under the basket the final buzzer was sounding, drowning out the collective sigh of relief among the 6,380 fans remaining.
"Glad to get the win, obviously our free-throw shooting down the stretch was obviously a problem for us," Howland said. "We won't be able to close out games without improving our foul shooting."
The Bruins (8-4) missed seven free throws in the final 51 seconds to stumble into Pac-10 play next week with a series of question marks hanging over them.
"It would have been a horrible Christmas around the Howland household if we had lost this game," Howland said.
Even with the victory Howland has plenty to fret about as UCLA turns its attention to Wednesday's Pac-10 opener against Washington State. At the top of the list is this young and inexperienced Bruin team's inability to put teams away.
In a loss to Montana earlier this month, and Tuesday's 75-59 closer than it should have been victory against Montana State, the Bruins simply lost focus.
On Thursday UCLA, playing without injured forward Tyler Honeycutt, couldn't finish the deal at the foul line. UCLA was 6-for-16 from the foul line (37.5 percent) from the foul line in the second half, 52.2 per cent for the game. Guards Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones each finished with 20 points.
Then there are the turnovers. UCLA committed 17 on Thursday, many of them unforced.
"Seventeen turnovers really hurt us tonight," Howland said. "And what's disappointing is on a lot of them we forced into them by ourselves."
UCLA's struggles at the foul line and holding onto the ball wasted a series of double-digit leads and kept the Anteaters close enough to give the Bruins a final scare.
"We had them down by as much as 14, but they stayed in it and played hard until the end," Howland said.
"We kept chipping away," said UCI forward Eric Wise, who finished with a team-high 16 points.
UCLA led, 72-67, with 51 second left when Chris Wilder sent Jerime Anderson to the line for two shots. Anderson missed them both, and 12 seconds later Patrick Rembert was fouled by Lazeric Jones while scoring on a drive. Rembert completed the three-point play to make it 72-70 with 39 seconds left.
Rembert then sent Jones to the foul line with 37.7 seconds left.
Jones missed the first, made the second for a 73-70 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Wise missed on a drive around Reeves Nelson. Nelson came up with the ball and Wise was forced to burn his fifth foul sending Nelson to the line.
Nelson missed the first, made the second. UCI's Darren Moore then hit a 3-point jumper from the top of the key to cut the gap to 74-73 with 7.4 seconds left.
Mike Wilder then sent freshman Lamb to the line for two more errant free throws.
Click on boxscore to enlarge (from Yahoo Sports)
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