UCLA wins, but it's no great exhibition

Updated post Dec 07, 2012 6:39 AM

 



 

 

UCLA wins, but it's no great exhibition

Bruins beat Cal State San Marcos, 83-60, but are not impressive against the NAIA school. Shabazz Muhammad scores 19 points for UCLA.

By Baxter Holmes
Dee Los Angeles Times
10:52 PM PST, December 4, 2012


The game didn't count, wasn't broadcast on television or radio, and wasn't witnessed in person by that many, either.

So the stakes for the UCLA basketball team were pretty low Tuesday night.

And the Bruins just barely lived up to the task.

The scoreboard total looked impressive, as UCLA won the exhibition game, 83-60, against Cal State San Marcos, an NAIA school.

But there wasn't much else that was impressive about the Bruins' performance.

Going in, UCLA planned to use the game, which carried just slightly more weight than a scrimmage, to work on its man-to-man defense.

The result:
"You can see our man defense … still has a lot of work to do," Coach Ben Howland said.

Playing in front of a markedly quiet 4,174 in Pauley Pavilion, the Cougars cut through the Bruins for easy baskets early on, pulling to within one point midway through the first half.

UCLA, which finished with 21 turnovers, struggled to build a double-digit lead late from there, but it pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 28 points.

As for UCLA's defense, it held Cal State San Marcos to 38% shooting (25 for 66), but it wasn't even good.

"We've got to stop the lapses in defense," forward David Wear said.

Four players scored in double figures for UCLA, led by Shabazz Muhammad, who had 19 points. Larry Drew II had 10 points and 10 assists, Kyle Anderson grabbed 16 rebounds and Jordan Adams came up with five steals.

Quincy Lawson had 14 points to lead the Cougars.

UCLA (5-3) will head to Houston to face Texas (5-3) at Reliant Stadium on Saturday.


Etc.
After sitting out UCLA's last game because of a sprained ankle, center Tony Parker played 20 minutes and had three points, four turnovers and eight rebounds. ... "The No. 1 thing is that no one got hurt," Howland said. ... The exhibition game was pushed back in UCLA's schedule so that it could open its season in a renovated Pauley Pavilion against Indiana State on Nov. 9. ... UCLA had a 46-28 advantage in points in the paint.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com

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UCLA 's Norman Powell, center, is defended by Cal State San Marcos' Adam Eakles, right, and Adam Alfaro during the second half on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA won 83-60.

Jae C. Hong, AP

Bruins get their workout

 

By RYAN KARTJE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Published: Dec. 4, 2012 Updated: 10:42 p.m.

LOS ANGELES – In a game that didn't count, played in an arena that wasn't even close to half full, the UCLA Bruins looked, at times, like they knew Tuesday night's game against Cal State San Marcos was nothing more than a glorified practice.

UCLA would cruise to an 83-60 victory over the NAIA school, but it was far from a picturesque performance, as the Bruins turned the ball over a season-high 21 times and couldn't pull away throughout, despite the Cougars shooting a miserable percentage from the 3-point line (22.2 percent) and the free-throw line (35.3 percent).
 

Tuesday night's matchup was supposed to be a chance for the Bruins to get 40 minutes of practice in man-to-man defense – something they've struggled with all season, forcing Coach Ben Howland to employ a zone defense. But after the victory, Howland still agreed that his man defense has a long way to go.

"You can see that our man defense ... has a lot of work to do," Howland said. "It's a work in progress."

Howland said that the Bruins still struggle at the most fundamental points of playing a man-to-man defense – jumping to the ball on every pass, being in a better stance, and getting beat on the intial step of dribble-drives, among other things.

And through nine games this season – only eight of which have counted, following Tuesday's game – fundamental mistakes seem to be what have held UCLA's massive potential back.

It was a fundamental part of the game that frustrated Howland most, aside from the struggles of UCLA's man defense, as the Bruins' 21 turnovers were a product of making sloppy mistakes against a brand of aggressive defense that point guard Larry Drew II said pressured them more than any other team this season.

"We have to limit those turnovers," Howland said. "We have to get better at our execution, there's no question. We've got a long way to go."

The Bruins left Pauley Pavilion with another victory although an uncountable one, in preparation for a big matchup with Texas at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Saturday.

Freshman Shabazz Muhammad finished with a game-high 19 points and Kyle Anderson had 16 rebounds to go with nine points and five assists.

And although Howland remained weary of some fundamental mistakes that UCLA made on Tuesday, the players seemed to leave their games against Cal State San Marcos with some kind of positive takeaway, even if it was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage against new players.

Contact the writer: rkartje@ocregister.com

 

 

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Rapid Reaction: UCLA 83, Cal State San Marcos 60

 

By Peter Yoon | ESPNLosAngeles.com

December, 4, 2012 9:51 PM PT

 

 

LOS ANGELES -- It was a little closer than UCLA fans would have liked for most of the first half, but the Bruins ended up dominating the way they should against Cal State San Marcos in winning an exhibition game 83-60 on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

A quick look at the game:

How it happened: The Bruins used a balanced scoring attack, with four players scoring in double figures, and even got a few walk-ons into the game at the end.

Shabazz Muhammad tallied 19 points, Norman Powell scored 14, David Wear contributed 11 and Larry Drew had 10. Kyle Anderson and Travis Wear just missed the double-digit party, scoring 9 points each. Anderson also had 16 rebounds and 5 assists, while Drew had 10 assists.

UCLA opened the second half with a 10-1 run, then held the Cougars scoreless for a period of nearly five minutes later in the half to take a 63-42 lead and blow open the game.

During the first half, San Marcos was within a point at 20-19 with 11:52 left and was trailing by four after a Jacob Ranger basket made it 29-25 with 5:48 left. But Travis and David Wear lead a 13-5 run to close the half for UCLA ,and the Bruins took a 42-30 lead into the break.

Player of the game: Muhammad continues to progress in getting his game legs back. He made 7-of-12 shots from the field for a team-leading 19 points. He also added 5 rebounds and couple of blocked shots.

Stat of the game: UCLA, playing a man-to-man defense the entire game, held San Marcos to 37.9 percent shooting. The Bruins outrebounded San Marcos 49-29.

What it means: Nothing. It was an exhibition game against an NAIA team and the Bruins were working on specific aspects of their game. It's difficult to judge the results against a clearly inferior opponent, in a game prior to which UCLA coach Ben Howland had asked the San Marcos coaching staff to play at least one half using man-to-man defense so he could work the Bruins on offensive sets.

What's next: UCLA travels to Houston for a Saturday game at 2:15 p.m. PT against the Texas Longhorns at Reliant Stadium. It is part of a doubleheader, with the women's teams from each school squaring off before the men tip off.