The UCLA coach wants his players to tune out taunts from the crowd when the Bruins play on the road, but they failed to do so during Thursday's loss at Arizona, or in an earlier defeat at USC.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times 6:10 PM PST, January 28, 2011
Reporting from Tempe, Ariz.
UCLA might want to add ear plugs to its travel checklist the next time it hits the road.
The Bruins continue to have problems tuning out opposing fans, their latest issues surfacing Thursday night during an 85-74 loss to Arizona. UCLA Coach Ben Howland said several players responded to what he called inappropriate remarks made by Wildcats fans.
"All they're trying to do is to get you to react to it, so it's actually serving what someone in the crowd tries to do," Howland said Friday. "It happened to more than one of our players, which is really unfortunate.
"At this point in the season you'd think you'd be over that by now."
Howland called the comments from the crowd of 14,258 "some personal things directed at certain kids you would think would be inappropriate in some circles." Students taunted Reeves Nelson after the Bruins forward fouled out late in the game, calling out every step he took before yelling "Sit down!" as Nelson plopped down on the bench.
Nelson responded by repeatedly rising from his chair and then sitting back down, triggering a devilish smile on his face.
"I always get a kick out of whatever they try to do with their little chants," Nelson said after the game. "I was just messing with them a little bit."
Howland, whose team plays at Arizona State on Saturday, was not amused.
"It's a little kid's thing and he's reacting to that," Howland said. "It's like, come on. We're losing, just sit down and don't react to the crowd. . . . That's really immature."
It wasn't the first time UCLA has had issues with hostile fans. Freshman center Joshua Smith extended his middle finger to USC fans earlier this month in response to an insult. Smith acknowledged he was rattled again Thursday.
"We let little things get in our head, let the crowd get in our head, let the refs get in our head," Smith said. "We didn't play the right way."
Bruins guard Tyler Lamb looks to make a pass against the Sun Devils and guard Jamelle McMillan on Saturday afternoon. (Jennifer Stewart / US Presswire / January 29, 2011)
Bruins squander a 15-point lead in the second half. Lazeric Jones scores 18 points and Reeves Nelson has 15 points and 12 rebounds.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angelinos Times 7:20 PM PST, January 29, 2011
Reporting from Tempe, Ariz.
Two halves still don't make a whole lot of sense for UCLA.
At the midpoint of Pacific 10 Conference play, the Bruins continue to play superbly for 20 minutes only to unravel after halftime.
They lost all of a 17-point lead against Oregon State and a 15-point lead against California before hitting a new second-half low Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.
UCLA squandered a 15-point lead against Arizona State, which had lost seven of its first eight conference games, before pulling out a 73-72 victory in overtime thanks to a barrage of three-point baskets.
Lazeric Jones, Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson each made a three-pointer on UCLA's first three possessions in overtime to build a seven-point lead. The Bruins (14-7, 6-3 Pac-10) held on to match their victory total from last season with at least 11 games remaining.
It was a big bounce-back effort for Jones, who finished with 18 points on seven-for-nine shooting after being scoreless and missing his seven shots against Arizona on Thursday. UCLA sophomore forward Reeves Nelson chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Still, Coach Ben Howland might have earned an honorary degree in public relations after the game, calling it "a great win" even though the Bruins allowed the Sun Devils (9-12, 1-8) to shoot 57.1% in the second half after holding them to 20% in the first.
Asked whether that assessment was a bit excessive, Howland said, "Absolutely, it's a great win. Absolutely, 100%. … Every win you get in the Pac-10 is a great win, trust me."
Forward Tyler Honeycutt, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds despite experiencing flu-like symptoms, said that part of the Bruins' inability to put away opponents stems from "just underestimating them."
"Coming out," Honeycutt said, "you know we do good in the first half, we take it for granted and we don't come out in the second half and play as hard. It's another game we've got to learn from and just get better."
Should UCLA still be having these types of learning experiences this deep into the season?
"Yeah," Honeycutt said, "you're going to learn new stuff every game as the season goes on."
The Bruins discovered that when they don't block out on free throws, bad things happen. They twice failed to keep Trent Lockett from rebounding missed free throws in the final two minutes of regulation, leading to a three-pointer by Ty Abbott and a tip-in by Lockett that tied the score, 61-61, with 20 seconds left.
UCLA had two chances to win before overtime, but Jones missed a three-point shot and Honeycutt missed a short running jumper at the buzzer.
Howland used a small, three-guard lineup for much of the game, with Anderson making his first start this season. The Sun Devils seemed flustered in the early going, particularly once Abbott, their leading scorer, picked up his third foul and went to the bench midway through the first half.
Arizona State also had trouble defending center Joshua Smith, who threw down a ferocious one-handed dunk midway through the second half to give the Bruins a 10-point lead. But Howland removed Smith after the big man did not get back on defense, leading to a three-pointer by Jamelle McMillan.
"He thought he got fouled on that one play and he's not hustling back," Howland said. "They hit a three because we're playing five on four, and that just can't happen."
Smith did not play the last 6 minutes 18 seconds of regulation or in overtime.
The Bruins said the victory mattered more than the second-half collapse. Just like in their shaky victories over Oregon State and California, disaster was averted.
"That's all that matters, the win," Nelson said.
Said Howland: "When you come out of a game like this with a win, everything is good."
Published: Jan. 29, 2011 Updated: 9:04 p.m. By SCOTT M. REID THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
TEMPE, Ariz. - Style points are not awarded in the Pac-10 race, which might explain why UCLA coach Ben Howland late Saturday afternoon preferred not to conduct an in-depth examination as to why the Bruins continue nearly blow blowouts.
UCLA, wasting a 15-point second half lead, needed overtime to edge last-place Arizona State, 73-72, at Wells Fargo Arena, allowing the Bruins to barely sneak out of the desert this weekend with a vital two-game split.
“An absolutely great win, absolutely,” Howland said. “Every win the Pac-10 is a great win. I just want to be positive, I look at the positive.”
Saturday’s victory, however nerve-racking, put the Bruins at 14-7 overall, 6-3 in conference play at the halfway point of a Pac-10 regular season so far marked by UCLA’s inability to put two solid halves together and the Bruins’ short attention span.
But the Bruins don’t seem to be learning their lesson.
Lazeric Jones pumped in a game-high 18 points, and forwards Reeves Nelson (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Tyler Honeycutt (12 points, 10 boards) added double-doubles in a UCLA triumph that followed the same storyline of other Bruins near disasters against UC Irvine, Oregon State and Cal, plus a home loss to Montana.
UCLA held Arizona State to just 19 first-half points but found itself headed into overtime after allowing the Sun Devils to shoot 57.1 percent from the field, 6 for 7 from behind the 3-point arc, in the second half.
“Had we lost it, it really would have been a tough thing to swallow,” Howland said, “because we were stubbing our toe.”
But Howland wouldn’t dwell on the near stumble.
“It’s all good,” he said. “We won the game and that’s the name of the game.”
TEMPE, Ariz. - UCLA head coach Ben Howland called it a great win, and his players followed suit, with everything hunky-dory in the Bruins' locker room.
This, after UCLA once held a 15-point lead but needed overtime to defeat a downtrodden Arizona State squad, just 1-8 in Pac-10 play and 9-12 overall.
Great sure means something different for these Bruins.
UCLA eked out a 73-72 overtime win on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena and moved to 6-3 in Pac-10 games (14-7 overall) despite letting the Sun Devils catch fire in the second half.
"Absolutely it's a great win," Howland said. "Absolutely.
"One hundred percent. Every win is great. Every win is hard-fought. Every win you get in the Pac-10 is a great win. Trust me."
UCLA opened with a small lineup to counter Arizona State's, and it paid off early and late.
The trio of point guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson and shooting guard Malcolm Lee sparked the Bruins to a 13-point halftime lead.
The Bruins' backcourt blossomed once more in overtime, with the three junior guards each hitting 3-pointers that kept Arizona State at bay.
"Coming out of regulation, we just said it's a new game," Jones said. "Let everything go that happened in the first two halves, come out and play hard. Try to come in and play like it's the first half of the game."
Jones' 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring gave UCLA a 64-61 lead to open the overtime period and provided the cushion the Bruins needed. Coming off a season-worst, 0-for-7 performance in UCLA's 85-74 loss at Arizona on Thursday, Jones was clutch throughout Saturday's game with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. "Really, I was just trying to come out and play my game today," Jones said. "I felt like last game, I was a little sped up. I didn't play my game, the game the coaching staff knows I can play.
"I wanted to come out calm and relaxed."
And that's how UCLA came out of the game. Opening the game was another matter, with the Bruins committing 10 turnovers in just over 10 minutes.
If the Sun Devils could have hit their easiest attempts, perhaps the Bruins would not have had such a big lead.
UCLA held Arizona State to 20 percent shooting in the first half while taking a 32-19 lead, with the Sun Devils making just 6 of 30 attempts from the floor and going 0 of 5 on 3-pointers. It was Arizona State's worst scoring half of the season.
With leading scorer Ty Abbott on the bench for most of the first half with three fouls, the Sun Devils broke down on the perimeter and failed to hit from behind the arc in a half for the first time this season.
Arizona State kept the game within reach, though, and finally made a big push with just more than eight minutes left and the Bruins leading by 10. The Sun Devils shot 57.1 percent, made 6 of 7 3-pointers and held the Bruins to 0 of 8 from behind the arc in the second half.
"We're not going to hold a team like that to 20 percent for the whole game," Howland said. "They did a much better job, got some open looks in the second half, ended up shooting 57 percent.
"They really hurt us in transition, and part of it is we probably got a little tired."
Howland stuck with the small lineup late and kept freshman center Joshua Smith on the bench for the duration of overtime. Sophomore forwards Reeves Nelson (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Tyler Honeycutt (12 points, 10 boards) manned the post for the Bruins, who led the rebounding battle by 10 at one point but finished with a 42-38 margin.
It did not help Smith's cause that after he got caught complaining to referees after a no-call on the offensive end, McMillan got a quick 3-pointer for Arizona State that cut UCLA's lead to 49-44.
"I just felt like the guys who were in there were better for us defensively," Howland said. "He (Smith) thought he got fouled on that one play, and he's not hustling back and they hit a three because we're playing five on four.
The Wildcats beat the Bruins, 85-74, as Derrick Williams leads Arizona.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times 11:22 PM PST, January 27, 2011
Reporting from Tucson
It was a defeat that left Ben Howland filled with regret.
If only the UCLA coach had gotten Reeves Nelson more touches …
If only he had played Tyler Honeycutt fewer minutes …
If only he had started Anthony Stover on Arizona's Derrick Williams to begin the second half …
There was also plenty to lament about the Bruins' defense and three-point shooting during an 85-74 loss to the Wildcats on Thursday night at the McKale Center, but those issues may not be so easy to fix.
In case UCLA needed a reminder of what it's like to play a dynamic and athletic team after rolling over the dregs of the Pacific 10 Conference in recent weeks, Williams and Arizona were all too happy to provide it.
Williams, the sophomore power forward who projects as a small forward in the NBA, scored 22 points on seven-for-10 shooting while maneuvering around the Bruins as if they were traffic pylons.
"With me being a true center, him being out of my position, I had to do what I could do," said UCLA's Joshua Smith, who had 13 points and one rebound in 19 minutes in his return from a head and neck injury that had sidelined him a week.
The Wildcats (17-4 overall, 6-2 Pac-10) shot 60.9% in the second half, continually driving past the Bruins (13-7, 5-3) for uncontested layups and dunks, on the way to taking over sole possession of second place in the conference.
"Our defense in the second half was very porous," Howland said.
UCLA's outside shooting was simply poor. The Bruins made only two of 15 three-pointers as their four-game winning streak came to a painful conclusion.
There was reason for optimism early when Nelson shrugged off the sprained left ankle that had slowed him in practice this week to make all seven of his shots and score 17 points in the first half. He finished with 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, tying a career high for points, but he wasn't a big factor in the second half and fouled out with 2:58 left.
The Bruins received scant production from guard Lazeric Jones and Honeycutt, who combined to make one of 15 shots. Jones also committed a technical foul early in the second half when officials ruled he had intentionally elbowed Arizona guard Kyle Fogg after a play underneath the Wildcats' basket.
Fogg made all four of the ensuing free throws to give the Wildcats a 12-point lead they would stretch to 18 before the Bruins made a too-little-too-late comeback.
"They thought I might have blatantly elbowed him," Jones said, "but really I'm just an aggressive player. I'm just trying to get him off me … it's really nothing blatant."
Howland said the Bruins' video coordinator reviewed the play and told the coach that Jones had indeed made contact after the whistle.
"We just have to have better mental toughness than that to react to whatever bump or whatever happened," Howland said.
Defense was optional for the Bruins during much of the second half. Arizona scored the first five points on a three-pointer by Williams and a layup by Jesse Perry to go up by 10.
Howland lamented not putting Stover on Williams to start the second half, but the way the Wildcats star was slashing for one-handed tomahawk jams and alley-oop dunks, it might not have made any difference.
Honeycutt, who had eight points in 38 minutes, had his own thoughts after the game on the best way to stop Williams.
"Personally, I felt like we should have started smaller and have Reeves guarding Derrick and me play the four," Honeycutt said. "So we'll look at it and watch film and try to see what we need to work on."
By MATT STEVENS The Daily Bruin in Men's Basketball, Sports Published January 27, 2011 Updated: 2:58 PM
TUCSON, Ariz. — The Bruins and the Wildcats slugged it out in the desert for 23 minutes Thursday night, trading punches in a heavyweight fight for second place in the Pac-10.
Metaphorically speaking, that is.
Then junior guard Lazeric Jones threw an actual elbow after the whistle at the face of Arizona’s junior guard Kyle Fogg early in the second half. And that was the knockout punch in the UCLA men’s basketball team’s 85-74 loss to Arizona.
“Obviously a key juncture,” coach Ben Howland said. “We have to have better mental toughness. … That was a bad momentum shift for us.”
Fogg calmly sank four free throws – the reward for a personal and subsequent technical foul on Jones – stretching the Wildcat lead to 11.
And though the Bruins tried to punch back, UCLA found itself on the ropes again minutes later, staggering behind another 6-0 Arizona run that was punctuated by a tomahawk jam – courtesy of Derrick Williams – that brought the capacity crowd at the McKale Center to its feet and gave the ’Cats a 16-point lead.
Now UCLA has a day to lick its wounds.
“(For) me offensively and defensively, it was a very terrible game,” said Jones, who finished the game scoreless, shooting 0-7. “As one of the leaders, I have to fight through adversity.”
UCLA (13-7, 5-3 Pac-10) tried to fight, and cut the lead to as little as eight with 6:11 to go, but down the stretch Arizona (17-4, 6-2) refused to cave and stayed perfect on its home floor.
Any flickering hope of a comeback fizzled when sophomore forward Reeves Nelson drew his fifth foul on a charge with just under three minutes to play.
Nelson led the team with 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds but, like the rest of his team, he didn’t have an answer for Williams.
The sophomore forward led the Wildcats with 22 points, but more impressive was the way he amassed them.
The projected NBA lottery pick got to the free throw line 10 times, hit two 3-pointers when freshman Josh Smith and redshirt freshman Anthony Stover were playing off him, and exploded past the big men anytime they tried to face him up.
“It’s really hard,” Smith said of defending Williams. “I’m basically guarding a three-man in the (NBA). With me being a true center, I just had to do what I could do, and stuff happens.”
Williams’ 22 points, combined with 17 from sophomore guard Lamont Jones and 14 from Fogg, helped the Wildcats dish out a balanced, up-tempo attack.
Fogg, who torched the Bruins in two regular season meetings in 2009, was held scoreless in the first half, but found his way to the charity stripe 14 times in the second. He finished the game 12-of-14 from the line, none more important than the four in a row he nailed after getting fouled by Jones.
Jones said he apologized and shook hands with Fogg during the game.
“I’m just an aggressive player,” Jones said. “He’s falling on me and I’m trying to get him off me.”
The technical was just one of a number of calls that players said they were frustrated by on Thursday. Junior guard Malcolm Lee admitted that the team was mentally shaken by the number of calls against them and the fact that shots just weren’t falling.
UCLA was only 2-for-15 from beyond the arc. Conversely, Arizona was 6-of-10 from 3-point range and shot 52 percent for the game.
“Anytime you go down by 16 or 18 points to a good team like Arizona, it’s going to be hard to come back, especially when they’re at home,” Nelson said.
Now UCLA has only a day and a half to regroup for a matchup with Arizona State on Saturday after failing in one of its last opportunities to nab a signature win.
Lee said the team certainly can’t afford to leave the state of Arizona 0-2 and must now focus on its Saturday contest.
“This game was real big,” Lee said. “And although this game was big – this game’s over.”
TUCSON – On a night full of UCLA self-inflicted wounds in its 85-74 loss to Arizona on Thursday, none was as fatal as a thrown elbow. Like the Bruins' perimeter shooting, it didn't even connect.
Bruins point guard Lazeric Jones' misguided elbow toward Wildcats guard Kyle Fogg with 17:03 remaining resulted in a technical foul and four momentum-changing points.
In 20 seconds, thanks to six Fogg free throws, UCLA had gone from six to 12 points down ... and out.
"We just kind of faded away after that," UCLA guard Malcolm Lee said.
"I feel like we were ready to have a run anyway, but I think it was a big part in the game," said Fogg, a Brea Olinda High grad who finished with 14 points, including 12 free throws. "It got the crowd into it, too."
Arizona forward Derrick Williams made sure the McKale Arena crowd of 14,528 stayed in it. Williams finished with 22 points as Arizona (17-4, 6-2 Pac-10) secured sole possession of second place in the conference with a dominating second half in which the Wildcats exploited the Bruins' mismatch problems with Williams and UCLA lapses on both ends of the floor.
"We obviously didn't play the right way," said Bruins freshman center Joshua Smith, who finished with one rebound in his first game since suffering a head injury against Cal on Jan. 20.
UCLA (13-7, 5-3) committed 19 turnovers and watched Arizona shoot 60.9 percent from the field in the second half while going 2 of 15 from behind the 3-point arc on its own end.
Jones' elbow wasn't the only part of his game that was off-target. He finished scoreless, going 0 for 7 from the field and 0 for 2 from the line.
"Offensively and defensively, it was a terrible game," Jones said.
"UCLA' s 19 turnovers were big," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "It's hard to win at home with that number of turnovers, and it's even harder to overcome that on the road."
Yet despite the turnovers and Smith & Co.'s matchup issues with the quicker Williams — "basically, I'm guarding a 3-man in the (NBA)," Smith said — UCLA at halftime was in a nationally televised game that had the feel of the storied Bruins-Wildcats battles of the 1980s and '90s.
"It definitely felt like a big game, being on ESPN, going for second place in the Pac-10," Fogg said.
And in the first half, Bruins forward Reeves Nelson rose to the occasion. Nelson had been questionable after spraining his left ankle against Stanford on Saturday, although he never doubted his participation.
"In the back of my mind I wasn't going to let them tell me I wasn't gong to play," Nelson said.
He was cleared Thursday morning by the UCLA medical staff and showed no sign of the injury in the opening half, going 7 of 7 from the field for 17 points in 16 minutes.
Nelson finished with a game-high 24 points.
But Arizona turned a 38-33 lead at intermission into a 10-point gap just 36 seconds into the second half thanks to a Williams' 3-point jumper and a layup by forward Jesse Perry.
UCLA was trying to get back into the game when Fogg, who had just made two foul shots, got free on what seemed like an endless parade of Arizona fast breaks in the second half.
As Fogg went up for the lay-in he got tangled up with UCLA's Jones. As the pair separated, Jones flung an elbow toward Fogg.
"It was nothing against that player," Jones said of Fogg. "I was just trying to get him off of me. I apologized to him during the game. I didn't try to blatantly elbow him. We're cool."
But after a video review, Jones was charged with a technical foul, and Fogg was awarded four free throws.
"Obviously," UCLA coach Ben Howland said, "it was a key juncture."
Defense can't stop Arizona, which shoots 52 percent from field.
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer The Los Angeles Daily News Posted: 01/27/2011 10:30:54 PM PST
TUCSON, Ariz. - Ben Howland raced out onto the McKale Center court less than a minute into the second half, wearing a look of pure disgust.
He didn't walk onto the court, he stomped onto it, equal parts frustrated and angry, and with good reason.
A five-point Arizona halftime lead turned into 10 in the first 40 seconds of the second half, and UCLA was on the ropes.
The Bruins swayed a bit, mustered a couple punches in return, but ultimately could not recover in an 85-74 loss that snapped a four-game winning streak.
"We were down five at the half, and then they score five unanswered to go up, and it was (Derrick Williams) both times," Howland said. "Maybe I should've started Anthony Stover in the second half."
Stover, Joshua Smith, Reeves Nelson, Brendan Lane, it wouldn't have mattered.
Williams was a force in the post and on the perimeter for the streaking Wildcats, who have won five of six, scoring 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Starting Stover for the third straight game, Howland decided to go with Smith in the second half.
The decision did not pay dividends.
"They took advantage of his mismatch with Josh," said Nelson, who had a game-high 24 points in 30 minutes before fouling out with about three minutes left. "He's really a four man, and a big guy like Josh - and it's nothing against Josh - it's just hard for him to guard a guy like Derrick who's skilled like that. It started with that, and after that they got confidence and hit open shots. They put on a show.
"They shot 52 percent, and that's all you really need to say."
Well, no, there's more.
The Wildcats did not just shoot well, they drove to the lane with ruthless ease. Perhaps the Bruins should swap mascots with Cal State Northridge. UCLA ole'd Arizona all night, letting guards Lamont Jones and Kyle Fogg waltz into the paint.
Jones had 17 points, nine more than his season average, while adding three steals and three assists, and Fogg had 14, including 12-of-14 free-throw shooting.
The Bruins suffered from a lack of defensive communication as the mismatched Arizona lineup toyed with their rotations and help defense. Many times, the Wildcats were left unimpeded in the post or open on the perimeter, particularly in the second half, when they shot 61 percent.
"We just got sped up," Smith said. "We let little things get in our head, let the crowd get in our head, let the refs get in our head. We didn't play the right way."
That goes for the UCLA offense, as well.
When Nelson picked up his fourth foul with 11:48 left in the game, he had eight field goals. The rest of the team to that point? Eight field goals.
Nelson shot 10 of 12 for the game; the rest of the Bruins shot 14 for 46.
They were particularly porous from long range, hitting just 2-of-15 3-pointers.
"We have to focus more on what we can control, instead of worrying about bad calls or running things wrong," said point guard Lazeric Jones, who finished 0-for-7 for zero points but added six assists. "We have to play our game. If we can stay mentally tough, I think we'd play a lot better.
"We just have to let things flow more; sometimes we're running too many plays instead of using our basketball minds."
Jones was involved in the game's other big swing, as he was called for a technical foul for elbowing Fogg in the face on a loose ball.
Fogg got four free throws - hitting all four - and Arizona got the ball back, though they could not capitalize on the possession.
"They made it a little more than what it really was; me and Fogg were cool," Jones said. "I apologized to him during the game. It really was nothing blatant, I'm just an aggressive player. If someone's falling on me, I'm just trying to get them off me. It really wasn't malicious or anything like that."
The Wildcats sure responded angrily, however, stretching an eight-point lead before the foul to an 18-point lead just four minutes later, the Bruins' biggest deficit of the season.
"It was real hard," said UCLA sophomore small forward Tyler Honeycutt, after finihshing 1-for-8 from the field. "We try to tell ourselves not to give up and we played hard at the end. I always thought the game was winnable so we kept trying to push it and get stops and force turnovers."
The Bruins lead the all-time series with Arizona 47-34 and are 14-20 all-time at Arizona.
from The Official UCLA Men's Basketball website Jan. 25, 2011
LOS ANGELES -
GAMEDAY CENTRAL DATE: Jan. 27, 2011 SITE: McKale Center (14,545) TIP-OFF: 6:05 p.m. (PT)/7:05 p.m. (MT) TV: ESPN2 and ESPN3.com TALENT: Rece Davis (play-by-play) and Jay Bilas (analyst) RADIO (UCLA Sports Network from IMG College): AM 570 KLAC SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO: 121 SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO: 141 TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play) and Tracy Murray (analyst) SERIES: UCLA leads 47-34
IN THE POLLS UCLA is unranked in the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Jan. 24) and didn't receive any votes in either poll. The Arizona Wildcats (16-4, 5-2) are unranked in both polls, but sit 27th in the AP Poll with 68 votes and 27th in the Coaches Poll with 52 votes.
SERIES VS. ARIZONA This is the 82nd meeting between UCLA and Arizona with the Bruins leading the series 47-34 (.580). UCLA is 14-20 (.412) all-time in games at Arizona and has won three of the last five in Tucson, Ariz. The Bruins lost last year's matchup 78-73 in the McKale Center on Mar. 4, 2010. The Bruins led 39-29 at halftime, but allowed the Wildcats to shoot 63.6 percent from the field in the second half while shooting just 33.3 percent. Michael Roll led the Bruins with 21 points and Nikola Dragoviæ added 19 points. Malcolm Lee chipped in 13 points while Tyler Honeycutt had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Fogg led the Wildcats with a game-high 26 points. Lamont Jones had 16 points while Nic Wise added 12 points and seven assists. Derrick Williams had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats swept the regular season series with a 77-63 win in Los Angeles. The Bruins, however, posted a 75-69 win over Arizona in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Pacific-10 Tournament. Head Coach Ben Howland is 9-8 all-time against Arizona.
BRUINS' INJURY REPORT Freshman center Joshua Smith hit his head on the floor after attempting to take a charge in the first half against California (Jan. 20) and has a head injury. He is being monitored daily and is listed as day-to-day.Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson sprained his left ankle late in the game in the win over Stanford (Jan. 22). He was able to finish the game and is also listed as day-to-day. Both Smith and Nelson practiced on Tuesday, Jan. 25 in a limited capacity.
Published: Jan. 26, 2011 Updated: 10:25 p.m. By SCOTT M. REID THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Arizona sophomore forward Derrick Williams has pretty much seen it all this season.
"Every team has their strategy to defend him," Wildcats coach Sean Miller said.
Washington went 50/50 zone, man-to-man. Washington State went straight zone. Arizona State pretty much threw everybody at Williams.
"It was different they had five different guys," Williams told reporters. "It worked the first five minutes."
The problem for the Sun Devils was the remaining 35. Williams finished with a career-high equaling 31 points in a 80-69 Arizona victory Jan. 15.
Not that the Sun Devils are alone in failing to contain Williams.
So imagine UCLA coach Ben Howland's dilemma this week when he prepared for the Bruins showdown with Arizona at the McKale Center tonight.
"It's not an easy thing to combat," Howland said.
Williams has already been named Pac-10 Player of the Week twice this season, but he might not just be the hottest player on the West Coast but the entire nation.
"When Derrick has the ball, good things start to happen," Miller said. "In the first five conference games, he has been instrumental."
Instrumental? How about overwhelming?
Williams is coming off three consecutive double-doubles and is averaging a nation leading 2.15 points per field goal attempt. He is fourth in the country in points per minute and is leading the Pac-10 in field goal percentage at an outstanding 62.3 percent.
Williams had 19 rebounds in Arizona's 65-63 victory at Washington State last Saturday, nine of them coming on the offensive glass, three more offensive boards than the Cougars has as a team.
But what Williams does better than anything—or anyone—is get to the foul line. So far this season he has shot 194 free throws, the most in the nation, 24 more than any other player.
"I've always done that," Williams said. "Fifteen, sixteen free throws is nothing to me."
Or 19 or 20.
"He's big, strong, athletic and great at drawing contact," UCLA forward Tyler Honeycutt said. "There's been some games where he's shot almost 20 free throws."
Williams actually went to the line 22 times in Arizona's 73-71 victory against Cal on Jan. 6, sinking 16 of those foul shots on the way to his first 31-point night.
"It felt like Derrick said 'get on my back,'" Miller said. "To have 22 free-throw attempts, 12 field-goal attempts. His great individual performance willed us to win."
LOS ANGELES – Don't tell Virginia Commonwealth or Montana, lest they consider applying for Pac-10 membership.
But UCLA has a four-game winning streak in conference play and might really have a shot at its first Final 68 in two seasons.
Much of that, maybe too much, depends on Tyler Honeycutt.
Deprived of Josh Smith (head injury) and forced to compensate for Reeves Nelson's rare aimlessness, the Bruins had to wipe out a 14-point deficit to Stanford on Saturday using their little guys.
Since one of them is the 6-foot-8 Honeycutt, that worked.
Since Stanford is Stanford, that worked well, as UCLA was just gathering strength at the end of this 68-57 victory.
Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones brought 21 free throws from the UCLA backcourt and made 19 of them, which helped.
They also made a total of three turnovers in 69 minutes, and Jones had six rebounds, which made Honeycutt smile and applaud in Jones' presence when someone mentioned it.
And Honeycutt scored 16 with eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists.
"There's no question he's a key," Coach Ben Howland said. "We were able to go small at times today and have him play the 4 position (power forward), because he could match up with their 4s. But he's a difficult matchup for the other team's 4.
"It's reminiscent of what we used to do with Dijon Thompson. We would play him at the 4 and he would cause a lot of problems, plus he'd get nine rebounds a game."
The Bruins will be quite good in the biggest games if Smith can remain on the floor for 30 minutes and if Honeycutt can touch his own upper reaches.
They have lost six games. In four, Honeycutt has shot 13 for 42.
He was NBA-brilliant at Kansas, with 33 points and nine rebounds, and he put together 18 and 13 against Virginia Commonwealth.
Coincidentally those two games were on holy ground, in Allen Fieldhouse and Madison Square Garden.
On Saturday, Honeycutt did what he needs to do more often. He played like a winner in more familiar surroundings.
"We didn't have much energy early, but then we got rolling," Honeycutt said, as Howland kept mentioning that the Bruins had to come back from a Thursday night game to greet this 11 a.m. tipoff (as did Stanford, of course).
Two years ago, Honeycutt was ranked 31st in the nation by Bob Gibbons and was the top Pac-10 recruit on that list. Last year he was banged up and probably a little disoriented by the general mess at UCLA.
He has the lift you would expect from a star volleyball player, which he was at Sylmar High. He can do most everything you'd want. It is a matter of figuring out which card to play and playing it each night.
"I thought I started off strong this year but then I struggled the last couple of games," Honeycutt said. "I've struggled with my shooting so I've tried to do it a different way, rebounding and defense.
"I try to give us whatever we need, whether it's four blocks or 15 rebounds or guarding the best player on the other team."
Lee is wearing the sheriff's badge on defense these days. "He might be the best wing defender in the country," Howland said.
Well, at least in the 310 area code.
Lee did shut off Oregon State's Jared Cunningham last week and had Cal freshman Allen Crabbe bottled up until he fouled out Thursday.
Here, Stanford's Jeremy Green shot 4 for 15 with Lee primarily dogging him. But then Green was even worse in Galen Center on Thursday night, going 2 for 9 against Marcus
Simmons, who has been taking top scorers into custody for a few years now.
The difference is that Lee can score, with 23 against Stanford.
But when Lee had to come out, Honeycutt took over Green. He also hit a 20-footer, two foul shots and a 3-pointer late in the first half to lead a game-tying 13-0 run. The first of those baskets was the one that stressed how good Honeycutt, and by extension UCLA, can be.
He was open for the 3-pointer but pulled the ball down and moved up inside the arc. Anthony Brown of Stanford moved out and had his hands up, and Honeycutt had to fling it, under duress.
It still swished.
When lesser players try shots like that, they're forcing. Had Honeycutt missed he might have been invited to sit near Howland.
Honeycutt smiled at the memory.
"There wasn't much time on the clock," he said. "It was a tough one but when it went in I got a lot more confidence."
Can confidence equal belief? On Thursday it's on to Arizona's McKale Center, another big stage to bring out Honeycutt's high notes.
UCLA appears to be still asleep in the first half after an unusually early 11 a.m. tipoff but wakes up just before halftime and surges past the Cardinal for its fifth victory in seven Pacific 10 Conference games.
By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times January 23, 2011
Lazeric Jones wished he was dreaming when an assistant coach delivered a wake-up knock on his dorm room door shortly before 8 Saturday morning.
"I didn't like it too well," the UCLA point guard said.
A few hours later, the Bruins were still feeling groggy.
"I kind of felt it in warmups," junior guard Malcolm Lee said. "I was a little sluggish."
UCLA's malaise carried over to the first 10 minutes of a rare late-morning game at Pauley Pavilion. Stanford took a 14-point lead, appearing poised to hand the Bruins a nationally televised flogging on their home court.
"They definitely came out and punched us first," UCLA sophomore forward Reeves Nelson said.
All of which made the Bruins' counterpunch even more staggering.
Playing with poise that belied its inexperience, UCLA stormed back for a 68-57 victory that left the Cardinal woozy and solidified the Bruins as a team to be reckoned with, even without a full complement of players.
UCLA held Stanford to 30.8% shooting and committed only one turnover in the final 29:11, avoiding the late collapse it had experienced in a two-point victory over California on Thursday. The Bruins also made a hearty chunk of their free throws for a change, with Lee and Jones combining to make 19 of 21.
Seemingly every Bruin contributed to the team's fourth consecutive victory. Tyler Honeycutt made big shots, Jones attacked the basket, Lee played stellar defense, Nelson gutted out the final 7½ minutes despite a sprained left ankle and even seldom-used freshman center Anthony Stover had five points and five rebounds.
And so UCLA (13-6 overall, 5-2 Pacific 10 Conference) completed a home sweep of the Bay Area schools with freshman center Joshua Smith playing a total of six minutes in the two games because of a head injury suffered against Cal.
"We're just coming together as a team, and I think we'll be pretty dangerous if we keep this going," said Nelson, who also played despite a bone bruise in his right knee and a popped bursa sac in his left elbow that he had sustained against the Golden Bears.
With Smith sidelined Saturday and Nelson mostly neutralized by double teams, the Bruins relied on a guard-heavy lineup featuring Honeycutt at power forward. The 6-foot-8 sophomore proved to be a matchup nightmare for the Cardinal (10-8, 3-4), either slashing to the basket or venturing outside for three-pointers on the way to 16 points.
Lee was an even more potent double threat. He scored 23 points while holding normally sharpshooting Stanford guard Jeremy Green to 12 points on four-for-15 shooting.
"There's not a better defender maybe in the country at the wing than Malcolm Lee," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.
The Bruins could have made a compelling case for being one of the worst teams in the nation in the early going. Nelson had a shot blocked, Honeycutt committed an unforced turnover and Stover missed a point-blank put-back as Stanford raced to a 22-8 lead.
Howland called three timeouts in the first 10:24 in an attempt to snap the Bruins out of their funk. But players on a team without a senior found strength in what until recently had been an unlikely source: themselves.
"They were on each other, [saying] 'Let's go.' " Howland said. "It was nice to see that kind of leadership."
Lee scored six consecutive points, on a three-point play and a three-point shot, and UCLA was off on a 13-0 push. When Honeycutt made a three-pointer to tie the score at 24-24, the crowd roared and the Bruins were on their way.
"Once we got it going," Lee said, "we really got it going."
Honeycutt later gave UCLA a 51-46 lead on a three-pointer with 7:17 left in the game, an advantage he would help extend to 10 points with a jumper from the left wing nearly four minutes later as the Bruins avoided the late-game mistakes that have plagued them all season.
"We're becoming really mentally tough," said Jones, who had 17 points and a career-high six rebounds. "When things don't go our way, we're out there fighting for each other."
January, 22, 2011 Jan 224:58PM PT By Peter Yoon UCLA Report ESPNLA
LOS ANGELES -- It took UCLA more than 10 minutes to finally wake up, but the Bruins overcame a sluggish start and defeated Stanford, 68-57, in a Pac-10 game Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins fell behind, 22-8, after making only two of their first 12 shots and committing six turnovers in the first 11 minutes, but then clamped down on the defensive end to claw back into the game.
They trailed only 27-26 at halftime then took control with a late second-half surge to pull away for their fourth consecutive victory and 10th in their last 12 games.
"That was obviously a very important win for us," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We started out really shaky. We just kept battling, trying to find a way to battle back.
UCLA improved to 13-6 and 5-2 in the Pac-10 Conference while Stanford dropped to 10-8, 3-4 with its fourth loss in five games.
Five observations from the game:
1. The Bruins have grown tremendously since the beginning of the season.
This is exactly the type of game UCLA could not win in November. Twice during the NIT Season Tipoff in New York, UCLA fell behind early and could never climb out the hole. They trailed 8-0 against Villanova and by the same score against Virginia Commonwealth and never led in either game.
Saturday, UCLA fell behind 8-0 again. But two months later, they managed to fight their way out of it. UCLA, which made only two field goals in the first 11:53, held Stanford scoreless for a span of six minutes, 20 seconds near the end of the first half and turned a 22-8 deficit into a 24-24 tie before going to halftime down a point.
"I think it's growth," said guard Malcolm Lee, who tied a season high with 23 points. "The more games we get, the more experience we have and just learning from past experiences, we know how to come back from those kinds of situations."
It was the second time in three games that UCLA has come back from an early deficit. Last Saturday at Oregon, the Bruins fell behind, 25-13, but rallied for a 67-59 victory.
"Every game, we’re looking a little bit better," Tyler Honeycutt said. "Our confidence is growing. We’re just seeing what we’re capable of."
2. Malcolm Lee is making a run at Pac-10 defensive player of the year honors.
Lee, who every game is assigned to guard the opposing team's best player, came through again by holding Stanford's Jeremy Green to 12 points on four of 15 (26.7%) shooting. Thursday against Cal, he was a thorn in Allen Crabbe's side and he also flustered Oregon State's Jared Cunningham last week.
"There’s not a better defender maybe in the country at the wing as Malcolm Lee," Howland said. "Malcolm Lee is as good a defender as you’ll see. He proves it time and time again. He can defend anybody. He reminds me a lot of Russell [Westbrook] that way."
Add in his 23 points and he easily had the most complete game of his college career.
"I’m just really proud of what he does for our team night in and night out," Howland said. "Not only is he scoring 23 points, but he’s guarding the other team’s best player. He’s got the toughest job and he was outstanding."
3. UCLA found a formula to win without Joshua Smith
Smith sat out Saturday for precautionary reasons after banging his head on the floor early in Thursday's victory over California.
The absence of the 6-10 freshman center figured to be a challenge for UCLA against Stanford, which has good size up front with Josh Owens (6-8), Dwight Powell (6-9) and Jack Trotter (6-10). Those three scored 10 points during Stanford's 18-8 run to start the game, but combined for only 12 more the rest of the game.
Freshman center Anthony Stover was a major reason. He played a career-high 23 minutes and his tight defense flustered Stanford's inside players.
"You can see Anthony is a presence defensively for us inside," Howland said. "He’s probably our best post defender on the team. Stover did a great job — things that don’t show up on the scoresheet are things that he did well."
Smith told Howland before the game that he could have played, but Howland didn't want to risk it.
"We’re always going to err on the side of caution with anybody’s health," Howland said. "That kid has a long career ahead of him and we don’t want anything to disrupt that."
To win without their big man was another injection of confidence for a team that appears its ready to challenge for the Pac-10 title.
"It shows how good we are," Honeycutt said. "Josh is our most dominant player matchup wise."
4. The small lineup worked well even against a bigger team
UCLA started using a three-guard lineup with Lee, Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson last week against Oregon mostly because Reeves Nelson was in foul trouble. But Oregon didn't have major size in the post.
The Bruins went to it again Saturday against Stanford, and it worked again. It certainly hurt UCLA's rebounding, as they lost the battle of the glass, 44-37, but it certainly fueled the offense. Honeycutt especially benefited by moving from the small forward to the power forward because his athleticism makes it difficult for opposing power forwards to guard.
Honeycutt, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, really started to get going once the Bruins went small. He scored seven points during UCLA's 12-3 run to close the first half and scored seven points as UCLA began to pull away in the middle of the second half.
"When Honeycutt matches up on the four, we’re a better offensive team, there’s no question," Howland said. "When he can do that, it makes us harder to defend. Jerime and Zeek [Jones] in there with Malcolm, that’s our best offensive lineup, no question."
5. Reeves Nelson turned in a gutty performance.
With Smith out, Nelson became the inside scoring threat for UCLA but wasn't having much luck. Stanford continually double teamed him, blocked his first shot and forced him into a couple of early turnovers.
He didn't score in the first half, and finished with only four points for the game, but he began doing the little things to help the team. Nelson, UCLA's leading scorer, finished with a team-best 10 rebounds, seven of which came in the second half. He also played good defense inside
Midway through the second half, he sprained his left ankle, but came right back in and continued to rebound and play good defense.
"Reeves showed some toughness," Howland said.
Nelson said after the game that the ankle sprain might be worse than he first thought. He said he was feeling pain and swelling and hoped to rest it as much as he can during the next couple of days.
"I’m just going to take this day and a half of rest and try to get better," he said. "The doctor said just to wait till we come back on Monday and they’re going to reevaluate it."
Nelson said he sprained the same ankle once before and that it kept him out of action for a week and a half. He wasn't sure if he'd miss any time because of this injury.
"I'm kind of glad that it’s the same one because they say the first time you sprain your ankle is the worst," he said.
UCLA BASKETBALL: Recover from sluggish start to defeat Stanford.
The Titanic was sinking, the band queuing up "Nearer, My God, To Thee," the hull busting at the seams, the stern and the bow about to snap.
And it did snap right back into place, the crew righting the ship and moving on its merry way just as quickly as it fell apart.
UCLA overcame a disastrous start against Stanford on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion to come from 14 behind on its way to a 68-57 win in front of 8,772.
"I kinda felt it in the warmups that we were a little sluggish," UCLA junior guard Malcolm Lee said.
"But once we really got it going, we were really getting it going. Not only on the offensive side, but defensively."
It was a catastrophic start, or maybe a catatonic start, as the Bruins simply appeared asleep for the first dozen minutes.
A minute and a half in, the Bruins trailed by eight, with 3-pointers by Stanford's Dwight Powell and Jeremy Green setting the tone early.
Eleven minutes in, the deficit was 14, UCLA had eight points, six turnovers and five rebounds and things were getting worse.
"Boy, this is disappointing," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said he was thinking 12 minutes into the game.
"What I was really thinking I can't say it out loud. It's an 11a.m. game, we're coming off a quick turnaround, didn't know if (freshman center Joshua Smith) was or wasn't going to play until 10 a.m., they're (Stanford) coming off a disappointing loss, come out fired up. A lot of things played into it."
Namely, hurried shot selection - the Bruins missed 8 of their first 10 attempts from the floor - poor defense and a lack of hustle as Stanford pounded the glass and got to just about every loose ball.
And just as quickly, the Bruins came alive.
After trailing 24-11 with 7:56 left in the first half, UCLA (13-6, 5-2 Pacific-10 Conference) held Stanford (10-8, 2-4) scoreless for the next seven-plus minutes and tied the score at 24 with less than two minutes left before ultimately going into the half down 27-26.
UCLA players said they were able to flip a switch after admittedly coming out lackadaisically.
"Obviously it looks like it, but I guess once someone sets the tone," Lee said. "I don't know who set it, but you could definitely feel it in the game."
Neither team led by more than four points in the second half until more than 12 minutes had gone by. That's when UCLA made its run with just over seven minutes left. It stretched a three-point lead to 10 in four minutes before holding the Cardinal off. The win was the Bruins' fourth in a row and 10 in 12 games.
"We're becoming really mentally tough," junior point guard Lazeric Jones said. "When things like this don't come our way, we fight for each other. When one person goes down or isn't having a great game, we have to lift them up and somebody else has to step up."
With Smith on the bench because of what team officials are calling a "head injury" but not a concussion and sophomore forward Reeves Nelson hobbled because of a left ankle sprain that will require a precautionary X-ray on Monday, the Bruins turned to a pair of juniors.
The backcourt combo of Lee and Jones came alive for UCLA in the second half. They combined for 26 second-half points, including 14 by Jones, while playing lock-down defense on Stanford's guards.
Lee, who tied a season-high with 23 points, and Jones teamed to knock down 19 of 21 free throws, including 14 of 15 in the second half.
It was Lee's defense on Stanford's Jeremy Green that drew Howland's praise after the game as Lee shut down his second consecutive hot scorer on Saturday. Green finished with 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting with three turnovers; on Thursday in an 86-84 win over Cal, Lee held freshman phenom Allen Crabbe to four points before fouling out with 3:20 left. Crabbe finished with 17 points after averaging 20 over his previous four games.
"There's not a better defender maybe in the country at the wing as Malcolm Lee," Howland said. "He's as good a defender as anybody you'll see. He proves it time and time again. He can defend anybody; he reminds me of Russell (Westbrook) that way.
"He has the toughest job and he was just outstanding."
LOS ANGELES – The Twitter page for UCLA forward Reeves Nelson read he was up early Saturday morning and looking for a sweep against the Bay Area schools. Nelson finished the post with his customary, "Let's get it."
UCLA got it, but only after using the first 12 minutes to wake up. The Bruins rallied from an early 14-point deficit to beat Stanford, 68-57, at Pauley Pavilion.
The victory required none of the Bruins' last-second heroics they needed against Cal. UCLA pulled away late in the second half for what Coach Ben Howland described as a huge weekend given that the Bruins were without their "Big Bear," freshman center Joshua Smith.
"A great comeback win," Howland said. "We just kept battling and found a way. Our guys picked themselves up. They were on each other. It's nice to see that kind of leadership within the group."
Asked if UCLA demonstrated such poise last year, Howland bluntly said, "No." Smith, who hit his head on the court in the first half of the Cal game, is day-to-day after suffering what UCLA is no longer calling a concussion but a head injury. Forward Tyler Honeycutt collected 16 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Guards Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones combined for 40 points while making 19 of 21 free throws.
The Bruins shot just 38.8 from the field, but they held Stanford to 30.8 percent shooting.
UCLA (13-6, 5-2 Pac-10) has won its past four games and 10 of 12 after beginning the season 3-4. It was the Bruins' first back-to-back weekend sweep of conference opponents since March 2009.
Stanford fell to 10-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
LOS ANGELES – UCLA guard Malcolm Lee had his best offensive showing in two months in Saturday's victory against Stanford. His 23 points tied a season high and were 11 above his average.
"I was just taking what they were giving me," Lee said.
He was also taking Stanford guard Jeremy Green, which is what really had UCLA coach Ben Howland gushing afterward.
"There's not a better defender maybe in the country at the wing as Malcolm Lee," Howland said. "Lee is as good a defender as you'll see."
Green, who came in averaging 14.9 points, finished with 12 but made just 4 of 15 field-goal attempts. Lee had a similar effect on Cal guard Allen Crabbe on Thursday before fouling out. The Bears' freshman star scored 13 of his 17 points after Lee fouled out, including nine in the final minute and a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
"He proves it time and time again," Howland said. "He can defend anybody. He reminds me a lot of Russell (Westbrook) that way. Not only is he scoring 23 points, but he's guarding the other team's best player."
Lee's defense was pivotal to the Bruins not falling too far behind early, when their shooting and interior defense betrayed them.
With freshman center Joshua Smith out because of a head injury, Howland was encouraged by the contributions of point guard Lazeric Jones and center Anthony Stover. Jones had a career-high six rebounds and Stover, making a second consecutive start, produced five points and five rebounds while playing a career-high 23 minutes.
"I think we're becoming mentally tough," Jones said. "When things don't go our way, we go out there fighting for each other. When someone goes down, someone else has to step up."
NELSON LIMPING
Reeves Nelson, coming off a career-high 24 points against Cal, finished with four points and 10 rebounds.
He suffered a sprained ankle in the second half and will have X-rays Monday.
By RYAN ESHOFF The Daily Bruin Published January 22, 2011 in Men's Basketball, Sports Updated: January 22, 2011, 4:58 PM
Minus its biggest presence against a long and athletic front line, UCLA reverted to a little small ball.
The Bruins’ trio of Malcolm Lee, Lazeric Jones and Tyler Honeycutt led a second-half surge that propelled them to a 68-57 victory over Stanford. UCLA’s most effective lineup proved to be one with sophomore Honeycutt playing power forward alongside a backcourt of juniors Lee, Jones and Jerime Anderson.
“When (Honeycutt’s) at the four, we’re a lot better offensively,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
“We were able to be smaller out there, and more athletic,” Honeycutt added.
Lee led all scorers with 23 points, as he and Jones combined for 40. The duo created havoc in the second half with a flurry of steals that led to a number of fast-break opportunities. Lee was also largely responsible for holding Stanford star Jeremy Green in check. The sweet-shooting junior guard had 12 points on just 4-of-15 shooting for the Cardinal (10-8, 3-5).
“There’s not a better defender maybe in the country at the wing as Malcolm,” said Howland, who prides himself on that end of the floor. “Not only is he scoring, he’s guarding the other team’s best player. He was outstanding.”
Honeycutt, meanwhile, played the role of de facto big man for the Bruins (13-6, 5-2). In addition to his 16 points, the sophomore grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots. His presence was sorely needed, as the Bruins were without freshman center Joshua Smith, who sat out the game with a head injury.
Early on, it looked like Stanford would be able to take advantage of his absence. Helped by sloppy play from the Bruins – which resulted in Howland calling three time-outs in the first 10 minutes of the game – the Cardinal built a 24-11 lead behind a number of easy putbacks.
At that point, thing could have gone one of two ways. The Bruins made sure they didn’t dig themselves too deep of a hole.
“Just stay patient,” Jones said. “I know it’ll come. Continue to attack.”
UCLA closed the first half on a 15-3 run for a 27-26 deficit, thanks to a spark from an unlikely source.
Redshirt freshman center Anthony Stover, getting his second consecutive start, helped invigorate what had been a restless Pauley Pavilion crowd with a barrage of energy plays. Stover grabbed key offensive rebounds, provided some key protection around the rim, and even showed off a clever post move on his way to a career-high five points.
He was even more impressive in the eyes of his coach.
“Stover really gave us a good game,” Howland said. “Things that don’t show up on the score sheet are the things he did well for us.”
The Bruins, having righted their ship at the end of the first half, were far crisper in the second. Hot perimeter shooting from Lee and Honeycutt pushed UCLA ahead, and a 3-point play from Jones with just less than four minutes to play gave the Bruins their biggest lead of the night at 58-50. They won going away.
Already without Smith, UCLA received a momentary scare with just less than eight minutes to go in the game. Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson took an awkward fall after getting fouled on a fast break and had to be helped off the court favoring his left ankle. He returned a minute later.
The Bruins were admittedly affected by Saturday’s 11 a.m. start time. The sluggish pace resulted in the team putting up just seven points in the first eight minutes.
“We just didn’t have the energy to start off with,” Honeycutt said. “Once we had some energy, we were rolling.”
The Bruins lead the all-time series with Stanford 133-90 including winning the last five in Pauley Pavilion.
The Official UCLA Men's Basketball website Jan. 21, 2011
LOS ANGELES -
GAMEDAY CENTRAL DATE: Jan. 22, 2011 SITE: Pauley Pavilion (12,819) TIP-OFF: 11:05 a.m. (PT) TV: CBS TALENT: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Dan Bonner (analyst) RADIO (UCLA Sports Network from IMG College): AM 570 KLAC SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO: 125 SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO: 193 TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (analyst) SERIES: UCLA leads 133-90
IN THE POLLS UCLA (12-6, 4-2) is unranked in the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Jan. 10). The Stanford Cardinal (10-7, 3-3) are unranked in both polls, and like the Bruins, did not receive any votes in either poll.
SERIES VS. STANFORD This is the 224th meeting between UCLA and Stanford with the Bruins leading the series 133-90 (.596). UCLA leads the all-time matchups in Pauley Pavilion 35-10 (.778), winning the last five games at home. Last year, the Bruins split the season series with the Cardinal with each team winning on its home floor. UCLA posted a 77-73 victory over Stanford (Feb. 4) at home while Stanford won 70-59 on Jan. 9 in Maples Pavilion. In last year's game in Los Angeles, Reeves Nelson led the Bruins with 18 points while Malcolm Lee (eight points) hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left to secure the victory. Michael Roll had 16 points and five assists while Nikola Dragovic added 15 points, six rebounds and three steals for UCLA. Tyler Honeycutt had a monster game, registering 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals. Landry Fields had 35 points and 10 boards for Stanford. Jeremy Green was the only other Cardinal to reach double figures with 18 points. UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland is 9-6 against Stanford and 5-2 against the Cardinal in Pauley Pavilion.
BRUINS' INJURY REPORT Freshman center Joshua Smith hit his head on the floor after attempting to take a charge in the first half against California (Jan. 20). He returned briefly in the first half but then sat for the remainder of the contest after recording four points and five rebounds in just six minutes in the win over the Golden Bears. He has neck soreness and stiffness and will be a game-time decision against Stanford (Jan. 22).
UCLA head coach Ben Howland said freshman center Joshua Smith would be a game-time decision for the Bruins' matchup at 11 a.m. today at Pauley Pavilion.
Smith hit his head on the court after a first-half fall during UCLA's 86-84 win over Cal on Thursday night, returned briefly in the first half, but was then benched for the second half for precautionary reasons after complaining of a headache and neck stiffness.
Howland said Smith suffered a mild concussion - Smith passed a verbal concussion test but had a "glitch" in the physical test - and would be re-evaluated this morning.
"You can't make up for what Josh had given us," Howland said. "He was on his way to a great performance again (Thursday). He was going to do some big things for us, and if he can't go, it'll be a big blow."
Howland said he was pleased with the performance of redshirt freshman Anthony Stover, who started at center in place of Smith because of foul concerns, and sophomore power forward Brendan Lane. Stover had four rebounds, a block and a steal in 15 minutes, and Lane added seven points and three rebounds before fouling out in 14 minutes.
Howland said Smith would come off the bench for the rest of the season.
"I made it after thinking about it (Thursday) in the late morning," Howland said. "We wanted to get off to a good start defensively. Anthony hasn't had as many minutes as Brendan, but I thought he did a good job in his 15 minutes."
Howland said Smith had no problems with the change - "It's no problem," Howland said, "None." - and that the change was made solely because of Smith's penchant for foul trouble. Smith's recent comments about Pac-10 officiating after the Bruins' loss to USC on Jan. 9 drew a public reprimand from the league and might have put an even bigger target on his back.
"I don't want him getting one in the first three minutes," Howland said of Smith's foul trouble. "Early in the game, officials are always setting the tone of the game. Because you're the biggest guy, it can be a problem."
Lee on the defensive
Junior guard Malcolm Lee drew kudos from Howland for his play on Cal star freshman Allen Crabbe, who entered the game averaging 20 points over his previous four contests.
Lee held Crabbe to just four points before fouling out with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left to play.
With Lee on the bench, though, Crabbe scored 13 points the rest of the way to finish with 17 and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.
"Malcolm is our best defender, so yeah, we can't make up for what he gives us defensively," Howland said. "It's obvious what a presence he gives us guarding the other team's best player night in, night out."
Moving on
Howland said he was not going to alter the practice schedule during Friday's preparation for Stanford to include additional time to address a consistent problem for the Bruins - holding on to leads.
UCLA let Cal come from 15 behind with nine minutes left to tie it with just over 10 seconds on the clock before Reeves Nelson's tip-in of a Tyler Honeycutt miss with two seconds left.
Howland said it was just a matter of fundamentals and that it's a "mental thing" and is just happy to have leads to protect.
"I hope we have leads to worry about losing," Howland said. "That's a good problem. I hope we continue to have to worry about that, that's a good thing. (But) we were too nonchalant with the ball."
The freshman suffered a possible concussion against California, but he kept his sense of humor. Bears took advantage of his absence.
January 21, 2011|By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times
Joshua Smith's balance was a bit wayward Thursday night, but he never lost his sense of humor.
In the final minutes of UCLA's 86-84 victory over California at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins' freshman center teased teammates Malcolm Lee and Brendan Lane after they fouled out.
"I was like, 'Now you know how I feel,' " the foul-prone big man said.
Smith had been relegated to the bench after sustaining a possible concussion 5:39 into the game when he fell and bumped his head on the floor.
He met with a doctor Friday and his status for UCLA's game against Stanford on Saturday morning will be a game-time decision, Coach Ben Howland said.
"We'll have to wait and see how he feels," Howland said.
Asked how he felt late Thursday night, Smith said he had "a little sore spot on my neck and a small headache."
Smith returned to the game against Cal two minutes after he fell, telling trainers and coaches he felt fine. Howland took Smith out with 8:57 left in the first half to give him a rest, and upon further questioning Smith disclosed that his head hurt.
"I didn't really start feeling symptoms until I sat back down for a while," Smith said.
At halftime, a doctor assessed Smith's balance. It "wasn't all the way where it should be," Smith said, so the decision was made for him to sit out the rest of the game.
The Bruins held on without Smith, who had four points and five rebounds in six minutes, but their interior defense clearly suffered. Golden Bears big men Harper Kamp, Mark Sanders-Frison and Richard Solomon combined for 43 points and made 15 of 24 shots, mostly on layups and dunks.
UCLA freshman center Anthony Stover, who had supplanted Smith in the starting lineup to help keep Smith out of foul trouble, had four rebounds, two turnovers, a block and a steal in 15 minutes.
Howland said Smith would come off the bench for the rest of the season regardless of whether he was cleared to play against Stanford.
"I don't want Josh getting a foul in the first three minutes of the game," Howland said. "It's not good for him psychologically and it's not good for us."
Letting it go
Howland said he did not review the final minutes of the Cal game other than Reeves Nelson's winning tip-in with two seconds left.
Didn't he want to watch how his team squandered a 12-point lead in the final 3½ minutes so that he could help his players correct their mistakes?
"We can't work on it [Friday]," Howland said. "We've got preparations for Stanford. … I saw it live and in person, so I have a pretty good feel for it."
Howland said the Bruins were "too nonchalant" with the ball and that most of the mistakes were mental.
"One of them was a turnover we threw away in the backcourt against the press where we were one on one and trying to whip it around," he said. "Just getting sped up and just not falling back on solid fundamentals."
January, 21, 2011 Jan 215:41PM PT UCLA Blog at ESPNLA By Peter Yoon
UCLA is facing the possibility of playing Stanford on Saturday without center Joshua Smith.
Smith left Thursday night’s victory over California because of a mild concussion and had not yet been cleared to play by Friday afternoon. Coach Ben Howland said Smith, averaging 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, would be re-evaluated before the game and a decision on his availability would be made at game time.
“The symptoms are mild, but no decision will be made until tomorrow morning,” Howland said. “They do all these tests. There is a whole protocol which is extensive. It’s just depends how he feels tomorrow.”
The game against Stanford is at 11 a.m. at Pauley Pavilion and will be televised nationally by CBS.
If Smith is unable to play, Anthony Stover and Brendan Lane will get most of the minutes at center.
Stanford has plenty of size with 6-foot-8 Josh Owens, 6-9 Dwight Powell and 6-9 Jack Trotter all getting significant minutes, so not having the 6-10, 305-pound Smith would certainly hurt the Bruins.
Smith had 25 points and 18 rebounds in two games last week in Oregon and was on his way to another strong game Thursday against Cal with four points and five rebounds in six minutes before he left.
Lane and Stover combined for seven points and seven rebounds against the Golden Bears.
“If he can’t play tomorrow, that’s obviously a big blow for us because he’s a big part of what we’ve been doing,” Howland said. “Those guys have to step up in his absence if, in fact, he can’t play.”
SMITH NOT STARTING, BUT HE'S FINISHING
Even if Smith is able to go, he won’t start, Howland said. Smith had foul problems for most of this season, but he’s been coming off the bench the last three games and it seems to have helped.
After fouling out in consecutive games against Washington and USC, Smith played a key role in the waning moments of victories at Oregon State and Oregon. Howland said Smith would be coming off the bench he rest of the year.
“It’s not that he’s not a starter, it’s a thing for foul reasons,” Howland said. “I don’t want Josh getting a foul the first three minutes of the game. It’s not good for him psychologically and it’s not good for us. It’s better. Early in the game the officials are always setting the tone of the game and because you’re the biggest guy out there sometimes that works against you.”
LEE WILL BE SEEING GREEN
Stanford guard Jeremy Green, the Cardinal's leading scorer at 14.9 points a game, is a player Howland called "maybe the best shooter in our conference."
“Green is really a guy that gets us nervous because he can go off at any time and knock down multiple jumpers in a row," Howland said.
Look for UCLA's defensive stopper Malcolm Lee to get well-acquainted with Green. Lee has established himself as one of the Pac-10's premier defenders. He held California's Allen Crabbe to four points before fouling out. After Lee left, Crabbe scored 13 points in the final 3:20.
"We can’t make up for what he gives us defensively," Howland said. "It’s obvious what a presence he gives us guarding the other team’s best player night in and night out."
But even if Lee can shut down Crabbe, Stanford will be hungry.
The Cardinal are coming off a 65-42 loss at USC on Thursday, their lowest point total since 2006. The Cardinal shot only 22.6%, their lowest shooting percentage since the shot clock was introduced in 1985.
“They’ll obviously be in a bounce back and ready to take us on tooth and nail,” Howland said. “We know that.”
Stanford (10-7, 3-3 in Pac-10) has been up and down this season, with the downs coming mostly away from home. The Cardinal are 2-6 away from Maples Pavilion, including 1-4 in true road games. But Stanford is the only Pac-10 team to defeat Washington this season, handing the Huskies a 58-56 loss Jan. 13 at Stanford.
NO REGRETS ABOUT EARLY TIMEOUTS
In Thursday’s 86-84 victory over Cal, UCLA used its final timeout with 2:48 to play while holding a 73-65 lead. The Golden Bears made an improbable comeback and the Bruins had no means of stopping the momentum and regrouping.
Howland, known for liberal use of early timeouts, nearly had that propensity backfire Thursday. The Bruins led, 79-73 with 50 seconds to play when they committed a five-second violation trying to inbound the ball. A timeout would have helped, but Cal took possession and immediately cut the lead to 79-75.
On UCLA’s next possession, Jerime Anderson went diving to the floor for a loose ball and couldn’t call a timeout so he rushed a pass to Tyler Honeycutt, who promptly turned the ball over with a bad pass. Cal then scored again to make the score 79-77.
Howland, who used two timeouts in the first half and another at the 17:41 mark of the second half, said he didn’t regret spending all of his timeouts earlier in the game, implying that he didn’t think he’d need them with the game seemingly in hand.
“I regret not being able to hold on to the lead and take good care of the basketball down the stretch,” he said. “We had a nine point lead with 2:30 to go and we were not able to hang on to it.”
By RYAN ESHOFF The Daily Bruin in Men's Basketball, Sports Published January 21, 2011 Updated: January 21, 2011, 2:22 AM
After splitting the season series last year, the Bruins and the Cardinal meet for the first time this season at Pauley Pavilion.
All the fans were watching. All the coaches were watching. As Tyler Honeycutt’s shot went up, even most of the players were watching.
Reeves Nelson was running. He glided through the key and to the rim to tip-in Honeycutt’s miss with two seconds left to give UCLA a thrilling 86-84 victory over Cal.
The sophomore forward’s acrobatic play prevented what would have been an epic collapse on the part of the Bruins (12-6, 4-2 Pac-10), who squandered a double-digit second-half lead and saw the Bears (9-9, 2-4) tie the game at 84 with 10 seconds left.
“For him to not give up, to run the floor and get that finish, that was exciting,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
Honeycutt got off a fadeaway jumper in the closing seconds. The shot bounced off the back rim and gave Nelson enough time to sprint in from beyond the arc and through four Cal defenders on his way to the rim.
“It just popped in my head to run in on the offensive glass just in case he missed it,” Nelson said. “The ball came off on the right side and I just tipped it in.”
Allen Crabbe – the high-scoring Cal freshman who finished with 17 points – tied the game at 84 with a 3-pointer. Crabbe scored 13 of his points in the final 3:20 after UCLA junior guard Malcolm Lee – who hounded him the entire game – fouled out.
“It was real hard to not be able to do anything,” Lee said. “It seemed like everything just went so fast. We just have to keep playing defense.”
Back on its home court against one of its in-state rivals, UCLA came to play.
Well, for 38 minutes or so. The remainder of the game the Bruins spent throwing balls away and completely blowing a double-digit lead, and they needed superb timing from Nelson to escape.
Nelson scored a career-high 24 points, finished with a double-double and played an even bigger role than may have been anticipated after freshman center Joshua Smith left the game for good after a first half head-and-neck injury.
“I was just going to try and come out and do what I normally do,” Nelson said. “It worked for me.”
Cal came out playing a 2-3 zone that didn’t seem to faze UCLA, which shot over 48 percent in the first half en route to securing a 41-35 lead at the break. The Golden Bears tried switching between zone and man-to-man in the second half, but it did little to slow the hot-shooting Bruins.
Nelson wasn’t the only Bruin with a record scoring night. Junior guard Lazeric Jones also poured in a career-high 24 points and hit five free throws in the final minute to help secure the win.
“He’s making plays down the stretch,” Howland said of his point guard.
Smith did not start the game, the fifth time this year he has come off the bench. Instead, redshirt freshman center Anthony Stover received his first career start. Smith took a hard fall on the defensive end 5:39 into the half and left the game holding his head. The freshman later returned for a brief stint, but was subbed out for good with 8:57 left.
At halftime, he was evaluated and acknowledged some neck soreness and stiffness. He will be re-evaluated Friday to determine his availability for Saturday’s game against Stanford.
In the end, as efficient as UCLA was offensively, Cal’s late surge was almost enough to steal the victory. The Bears shot 72 percent in the second half.
“They did what they had to,” Nelson said. “They started hitting big shots. It all added up to them coming back. We’ll learn from this and we’re just happy we got the win.”
Reeves Nelson puts back missed jumper by Tyler Honeycutt with two second left, after Bruins squander big leads with many missed chances. Center Joshua Smith goes out after hitting head on floor.
UCLA BASKETBALL January 20, 2011|By Ben Bolch The Los Angeles Times
Their best defender had fouled out. Their star big man had long since departed with a mild concussion. Their ability to make free throws or get the ball cleanly past midcourt had largely failed them.
Somehow, with everything deteriorating around them, the UCLA Bruins managed to pull out an uglier-by-the-second 86-84 victory over California on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion after Reeves Nelson tipped in a missed shot with two seconds left.
Nelson returned to the scoring column in a big way after his zero-point, five-foul effort against Oregon, scoring a career-high 24 points and the winning basket when he sprinted into the lane and used his right hand to put back a missed turnaround jumper by Tyler Honeycutt.
The play earned Nelson bear hugs from several teammates after Cal's desperation heave from beyond halfcourt fell short at the buzzer to give the Bruins their third consecutive victory.
"I didn't really look at it as an opportunity for redemption," said Nelson, who made 10 of 14 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds to notch a double-double. "I'm not perfect and everybody has an off game, so I was going to come out and do what I normally do, and it worked out for me."
UCLA (12-6 overall, 4-2 Pacific 10 Conference) had squandered leads of 15 points midway through the second half and eight with less than a minute remaining.
Cal freshman guard Allen Crabbe scored 13 of his 17 points after Bruins defensive stopper Malcolm Lee fouled out with 3:20 remaining, including a three-pointer that knotted the score at 84-84 with 10 seconds to go.
"They just scored on us too easy," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. "It was like we weren't even on defense."
Forward Harper Kamp scored most of his 21 points on layups for the Golden Bears (9-9, 2-4), who shot 72% in the second half.
But UCLA guard Lazeric Jones made seven of eight free throws in the final 1:11 and finished with 24 points. He converted 10 of 12 free throws overall.
In an implausible first-half instant, California's big problem became UCLA's sizeable void when Joshua Smith collapsed in a heap after trying to draw a charge and instead hitting his head on the floor.
There was immediately concern on the Bruins bench when the freshman center — officially listed at 6 feet 10 and 305 pounds but described this week by Cal Coach Mike Montgomery as "300-and-who-knows-what big" — remained on the floor for a few moments before gingerly walking toward the bench.
Smith briefly returned after his injury before sitting out the final 28:57 with neck soreness and stiffness. He will be reevaluated Friday and Howland said his status for UCLA's game against Stanford on Saturday morning would probably be a game-time decision.
With Smith sidelined, UCLA turned to Anthony Stover and Brendan Lane, with mixed results. Lane had seven points and three rebounds in 14 minutes, but Stover had four rebounds, three fouls and two turnovers in 15 minutes. Both players were liabilities at times on the defensive end.
"You could tell being down a man, not having Big Bear [Smith] in there, hurt us inside with our defense," Howland said.
Howland used a small lineup again for stretches, at one point going with guards Jones, Jerime Anderson and Tyler Lamb in addition to Honeycutt and Smith to combat Cal's zone. Point guards Anderson and Jones were on the floor together when the Bruins took a 36-25 lead, their largest advantage of the first half.
Honeycutt, wearing a protective blue sleeve over his sore right elbow, scored 15 points on five-for-nine shooting, making four of six three-point shots.
Howland said he was pleased that Nelson made the winning play, one that probably eased the frustration he experienced last week against Oregon.
"For him to get that tip," Howland said, "to not give up and not quit, to run the floor and get that last play, that was exciting."
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UCLA's Reeves Nelson (22) reacts after a tip in at the buzzer. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/The Associated Press)
Nelson comes to the rescue By Jon Gold Staff Writer The Los Angeles Daily News Posted: 01/20/2011 10:31:57 PM PST Updated: 01/20/2011 10:39:38 PM PST
LOS ANGELES - Reeves Nelson bounded down the court with the greatest of ease, just a few steps behind Tyler Honeycutt but in perfect position.
On a body covered in tattoos, the only one missing was the Superman shield.
Nelson came from nowhere to tip in Honeycutt's missed shot from the free-throw line with two seconds left, giving UCLA an 86-84 victory over Cal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
It was that kind of night for Nelson, and he needed it.
The UCLA sophomore power forward had 24 points and 10 rebounds, none more important than the last. This after finishing with zero points and three rebounds in only 15 minutes in the team's 67-59 win over Oregon last Saturday, his first scoreless game as a Bruin.
With freshman center Joshua Smith sent to the bench for the entire second half for precautionary reasons - Smith banged his head and neck on the floor in the first half and will be re-evaluated today - UCLA needed every last basket from Nelson.
He delivered.
Nelson made 9 of 13 field-goal attempts with an array of low-post moves, but did most of his work in transition. Nelson had three steals that led to transition dunks, and his cunning-and- running kept the Bears at bay even when they made their charge.
And Cal did attack.
UCLA trailed just once - the Bears led 2-0 - but the Bruins let Cal keep it close, watching an 11-point lead with just more than four minutes left in the first half dwindle to six at halftime. The Bruins were similarly frenetic in the second half, building a 15-point lead with nine minutes left but needing clutch free throws from junior point guard Lazeric Jones and Honeycutt to ice the game after Cal crept to within two with less than a minute left.
Jones finished with 23 points and Honeycutt 15, his most productive output since UCLA's 86-79 win over No. 16 BYU in the Wooden Classic, when he finished with 17 points.
Honeycutt's ailing right elbow must not have been too bothersome on Thursday. The Sylmar High product hit four of six 3-pointers, including eight in the first half, two days after having X-rays on his elbow, which has been bothering him for nearly two months.
Honeycutt banged the elbow on the Allen Fieldhouse court during the first half of the Bruins' 77-76 loss at Kansas on Dec. 2, though he finished with 33 points, including 17 in the second half. After that game, Honeycutt's scoring average was 17.7 points per game; in the next 10, Honeycutt averaged less than 11.
With Honeycutt hampered and Nelson's confidence down after the scoring shutout - and Smith's early injury, to boot - the Bruins had plenty to worry about Thursday. Most troubling entering the game, however, was Cal's Allen Crabbe.
Crabbe was held in check by Malcolm Lee for most of the game, though, held without a field goal for nearly the first 34 minutes of game time before finishing with 17 points after Lee fouled out late in the game.
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Nelson's late tip-in saves day for UCLA By Jon Gold, Staff Writer The Los Angeles Daily News Posted: 01/20/2011 11:38:57 PM PST Updated: 01/20/2011 11:48:28 PM PST
UCLA's Reeves Nelson (22) reacts after a tip in at the buzzer. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/The Associated Press)Reeves Nelson bounded down the court with the greatest of ease, just a few steps behind Tyler Honeycutt but in perfect position.
On a body covered in tattoos, the only one missing was the Superman shield.
Nelson came from nowhere to tip in Honeycutt's missed shot from the free-throw line with two seconds left, giving UCLA a 86-84 win over Cal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
After freshman Allen Crabbe hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to tie the game for the Bears, who came back from a 15-point deficit with nine minutes to play, Honeycutt took the inbounds pass and sprinted down the court.
The Cal defense collapsed on the Sylmar product near the free-throw line and Honeycutt was forced into an awkward shot attempt.
But there, to the rescue as he had been all night, was Nelson.
"They hit a 3 to tie it, and I saw Honeycutt dribbling, and I knew he was probably going to take the shot," Nelson said. "It just popped in my head to run in on the offensive glass if he missed it. The ball came out on the right side."
It was that kind of night for Nelson, and he needed it.
The UCLA sophomore power forward had 24 points and 10 rebounds, none more important than the last. This, after finishing with zero points and three rebounds in only 15 minutes in the team's 67-59 win over Oregon on Saturday, his first scoreless game as a Bruin.
With freshman center Joshua Smith sent to the bench for the entire second half for precautionary reasons - Smith banged his head and neck on the floor in the first half and will be reevaluated today - UCLA needed every last basket from Nelson.
"I'm really excited that Reeves is the one that tipped that in," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "For him to get that tip, to not give up, to not quit, to run the floor and get that play, that was exciting."
Nelson made 9 of 13 field-goal attempts with an array of low-post moves but did most of his work in transition. Nelson had three steals that led to transition dunks, and his cunning-and-running kept the Bears at bay even when they made their charge.
And Cal did attack.
UCLA trailed just once - the first basket of the game, as the Bears led, 2-0 - but the Bruins let Cal keep it close, watching an 11-point lead with just over four minutes left in the first half dwindle to six at halftime. The Bruins were similarly frenetic in the second half, building a 15-point lead with nine minutes left but needing clutch free throws from junior point guard Lazeric Jones and sophomore small forward Honeycutt to ice the game when Cal crept back late in the game.
Jones finished with 24 points and Honeycutt with 15, his most productive output since UCLA's 86-79 win over No. 16 BYU in the Wooden Classic, when he finished with 17 points.
Honeycutt's ailing right elbow must not have been too bothersome on Thursday.
Honeycutt hit 4 of 6 3-pointers, and had eight points in the first half, two days after having X-rays on his elbow, which has been bothering him for nearly two months.
Honeycutt banged the elbow on the Allen Fieldhouse court during the first half of the Bruins' 77-76 loss at Kansas on Dec. 2, though he finished with 33 points, including 17 in the second half. After that game, Honeycutt's scoring average was 17.7 points per game; in the next 10, Honeycutt averaged under 11.
"It felt good; I've been playing through it this whole time, and it hasn't bothered me," Honeycutt said. "Maybe a little bit, but I just wasn't taking as many shots."
With Honeycutt hampered and Nelson's confidence down after the scoring shutout - and Smith's early injury - the Bruins had plenty to worry about Thursday. Most troubling entering the game, however, was Cal's Allen Crabbe.
Crabbe came into the game on a tear - averaging 20 points over his previous four contests, including a 30-point explosion on Jan. 13 in a 88-81 win over visiting Washington State. Malcolm Lee held Crabbe in check for most of the game, though, limiting the sensational freshman to four points before fouling out with 3:20 left in the game.
Crabbe made the most of his opportunities late, however, finishing with 17 points.
"I don't even know what I was thinking," Lee said of the final three minutes. "It just went so fast. That three minutes seemed like it was 15 minutes. I was just hoping every time he shot it would miss."
Nelson was relieved but humble after the game, waiting patiently to visit his family downstairs. With younger brother Raymond on his official visit with the UCLA football team - a tight end, Raymond has verbally committed to the Bruins - the elder Nelson said the game was not about salvation, even after the scoreless performance.
"I didn't really look at it as an opportunity for redemption," Nelson said. "I'm not perfect. Everybody has an off game. But I tried to come out and do what I normally do and it worked out for me."
LOS ANGELES – Reeves Nelson's tip-in with 2.2 seconds left gave UCLA an 86-84 victory against Cal in a game that appeared well in hand only seconds earlier at Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night.
UCLA (12-6, 4-2 Pac-10) led by 14 points late, was up nine inside two minutes and ahead by eight with less than a minute left only to see Cal (9-9, 2-4) threaten to extend the game into overtime when freshman guard Allen Crabbe hit a 3-point jumper with 10.8 seconds remaining.
The Bruins then headed down court, where Tyler Honeycutt put up a jumper that rimed out. Nelson, cutting through the lane, put it back in. A Crabbe shot from midcourt at the buzzer was off the mark.
"It was a nice shot at the end," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "It would just be nice if we didn't put ourselves in that situation."
Nelson's winning tip-in gave him a career-high 24 points and his 10th rebound. Bruins point guard Lazeric Jones also scored 24 points.
"I saw Honeycutt dribbling and I knew he was probably going to shoot it," Nelson said. "And it just popped in my head to run to the offensive glass in case he missed it, and he did."
It was not all good news for the Bruins on Thursday.
Freshman center Joshua Smith, the Pac-10's leading offensive rebounder, fell and injured his head with 14:21 left in the first half and suffered what Howland described as a mild concussion. Smith left the game and returned again briefly. He was evaluated at halftime and was held out of the second half for precautionary reasons after complaining of neck stiffness and soreness.
He will be re-evaluated today for a possible concussion and to determine his availability for Saturday's game against Stanford.
"Obviously, not having Big Bear in there obviously, hurt our defense," Howland said. Thursday's game was billed as a showdown between the Pac-10 top two freshmen, Smith and Crabbe. Crabbe, who averaged 20 points per game in the previous four games, stayed on his feet but otherwise did not fare much better than Smith for the game's first 16 minutes.
Bruins guard Malcolm Lee held Crabbe to just two shots in the first half and only two points, both coming at the foul line, and just four points midway through the second half.
But when Lee fouled out with 3:20 remaining Crabbe took full advantage of his absence, scoring 13 points with Lee out, nine in the final minute, to spark Cal's late comeback.
The Golden Bears shot 72 percent from the field in the second thanks to a series of easy looks down the stretch.
"They just scored on us too easy," Howland complained. "It was like they were getting layups."
But it was a missed free throw and a 3-point jumper that set up the game's dramatic ending.
Smith's spill came in the midst of a 7-0 spurt that allowed UCLA open up some breathing room, 16-8.
Although Cal pulled to within 36-34 shortly before halftime, the Bruins stretched the gap to 41-35 at the intermission and then pulled away steadily in the second half.
UCLA led, 73-59, with 3:20 remaining and 79-71 inside the final minute. But with 18.1 seconds left Jones only converted one of two foul shots making it 84-81.
With Lee watching nervously on the bench, Crabbe then rushed down the court and nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing.
Ben Howland concerned that UCLA players let opposing fans get inside their heads
