UCLA Basketball Defeats Colorado, 78-75
 |  Jordan Adams |
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from the Official UCLA Men's Basketball website
Jan. 12, 2013
Jan. 12, 2013
BOULDER, Colo. - Travis Wear scored 14 of his career-high 23 points in the second half and Jordan Adams' two free throws with seven seconds left sealed UCLA's ninth straight victory, 78-75, at Colorado on Saturday.
UCLA (14-3, 4-0 Pac-12) also received 18 points from Jordan Adams and 14 from Shabazz Muhammad. Kyle Anderson registered his fifth double-double of the season, totaling 12 points and a team-best 10 rebounds.
The Bruins' nine-game winning streak is their longest since winning 10 straight during the 2008-09 season.
Spencer Dinwiddie led Colorado (11-5, 1-3) with 23 points. The host Buffaloes also received 18 points each from Josh Scott and Askia Booker.
UCLA improved to 6-1 this season in games decided by five points or fewer. The Bruins improved to 2-0 on the road this season, after having defeated Utah in Salt Lake City, 57-53, on Thursday night.
The Bruins led at halftime, 35-34, and pushed their margin to 40-34 early in the second quarter before Colorado tie the game, 42-42, with 16:09 remaining.
Leading 44-43, UCLA used a 17-5 scoring run over the next 6:49 to secure a 61-48 margin. That scoring run was capped by a three-pointer from Adams, who was fouled on the shot and converted the ensuing free throw.
Colorado chipped away, closing its deficit to 66-61 with 2:15 left in regulation. The Buffaloes got as close as one point, trailing UCLA by a 76-75 margin with seven seconds left, before Jordan Adamsmade two free throws.
Booker's three-point attempt to tie the game in the final seconds was unsuccessful.
Game Notes: This marks the fourth time in head coach Ben Howland's 10 seasons at UCLA in which the Bruins have opened conference play with a 4-0 mark (also in 2003-04, 2007-08, 2008-09) ...Shabazz Muhammad finished with 14 points, scoring in double figures for the 13th time in 14 games ... Jordan Adams has scored in double figures in 13 of 17 games played ... UCLA improved its all-time record against Colorado to 6-1 ... the Bruins had not played at Colorado since Dec. 7, 1962 ... Travis Wear scored nine consecutive points for UCLA in the final 10 minutes of the game ... UCLA did not trail Colorado in the second half (game was tied, 42-42, at the 16:09 mark).
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 78, Colorado 75
Jan. 12, 2013
Recap | Box Score
UCLA head coach Ben Howland
opening statement
"This is a huge win for us. I thought we had some great performances, and I am so proud of how Kyle [Anderson] knocked down his foul shots. He gets a double-double. He had a double-double last weekend both games against Cal and Stanford. He has a double-double today, he's playing terrific. I thought Jordan Adams was outstanding, a big pass to Travis [Wear] for that lay-up late in the game. He made a big shot. Shabazz [Muhammad] got in foul trouble in the first half so I tried to play him two different instances with two fouls really hoping he wouldn't get his third. But I thought everybody did well; I thought Tony [Parker] and Norman [Powell] gave us great minutes off the bench. David [Wear] had five big rebounds for us, and we ended up only turning it over eleven times. We had too many in the second half, because we had four in the first half it was really low. And to come here at 5,345 feet, and win above sea level is a great thing. So I'm really proud of our team."
on halftime conversations
"I don't think it was a different team, we just were right there and we came out. We're a good second half team, but they came out and really executed. Shabazz [Muhammad] made a big three, and Travis Wear was great. I can't say enough about how good Travis was today. He was really, really good and hard to match up with for the opposing team. I wish that three would've gone, that three at the top of the key. And there was a huge shot, Jordan [Adams] shot in transition that put us up like thirteen with the foul shot. So that was a huge play because you knew that [CU] was going to make a run. I mean this is a good team that we were able to defeat today."
on winning on the road in a difficult environment
"It's the greatest feeling in the world, coming into a tough environment like this where it's us against the world and winning. We had very few Bruin fans here today. Every win is tough, there's nothing easy here. I can't remember when we had an easy win. It's just one game at a time, and this makes the trip going home a lot better when you're coming off a `W,' and to sweep a road trip up here in the mountains is big for us. So I'm really excited for our team and proud of them. I really feel blessed that we continue to stay healthy."
on junior forward Travis Wear
"Dave [Wear] and Travis [Wear] both are really good because they're experienced veterans. Larry [Drew II] is an experienced veteran. Those three guys in particular, they've been in tough places before last year and years before so it's all good."
on strategy down the stretch
"They got us on a couple plays, and what's hard is on the second game of a road trip we had to go Salt Lake City, Utah to Boulder, Colorado playing 7:30 pm in Salt Lake, and noon here really makes it tough in terms of how much you can really dissimilate. I thought our guys did a great job learning stuff, but they had a couple late plays where they have a handoff ball screen to a flare they got a three on. They did a nice job executing down the stretch, were just trying to stay in front of the ball and make our foul shots. We knew it would come down to foul shooting and they had a three to tie the game; my heart was half way down my stomach on that last shot by [Askia] Booker. It was the San Antonio play; it was the same play that Utah ran."
on questions down the road with top players
"Players, they love this environment. Players love it like this. Players love to play, this is great. The best teams are the ones that win on the road and enjoy being the spoiler on the road and winning in a tough environment. That is what is fun. I mean they've all been in games like this before but not to this magnitude in terms of the size of the crowd."
on Travis Wear in the final minutes
"We were going to him because he had it going. We were looking for him, looking for him, looking for him. We had a great offensive rebound sequence; we came out with nothing on that one sequence. Again, I really command our players for their toughness today. And I'll tell you what [CU's] players are very good in the back court; [Spencer] Dinwiddie and [Askia] Booker are outstanding."
on Travis Wear picking up his play
"I think he's picked it up since the Fresno game. It started that next game. And I think it's just that he's a good player, it doesn't surprise me at all, not one bit. We tried to get him a timeout, and some time here and there but we needed him in there because he had it going today. He had it going at the end of the first half too, it kind of carried over."
on being 4-0 in Pac-12 play
"We're where we want to be in the new season which started last Thursday, and we just want to keep building and keep improving. This team has a lot of room to still continue to grow and I'm just really happy for our players because they're working really hard."
on a pivotal point in the game
"I thought that we really did a good job battling to start off the game, and we got off to a good start. And I thought the second half when we made that run to go up 13, we had some really good plays. Shabazz [Muhammad] had a dunk in the open court. We had some plays. Jordan Adams shot that put us up 13 really gave us a shot in the arm, but I have to go back and watch the game."
on Shabazz Muhammad's performance
"You know he still ends up with 14 points, and it's not easy up here. I'll be the first to admit that, I was subbing more getting guys in and out, in and out, trying to give guys quick breaks and breathers. But there was one play I was so excited about for him, in that we missed a shot and sprinted as hard as he could to get back and he was the guy there that saved the basket from occurring for [CU]. Now that's what I'm looking for. His offense is going to be fine; I'm not worried at all about him offensively. That's the least of our worries."
on improving on defense
"We're playing better defense, we're getting better, were evolving and guys are learning. We were at 40 percent the last three games, under 40 against our opponent today. They shot big down the stretch because I bet you going into the last five minutes we were right at 40 [percent] or under. I give them credit, you know, we made some layups late. We're looking to hedge our screens for the most part and looking to double in the post when there's a good post player. They have good young players just like we do. We're happy, it's fun to win."
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle
opening remarks
"Very disappointing and frustrating loss for our basketball program; we have to get better in a lot of different areas. With that said I credit UCLA. They made plays when they needed to, and they made foul shots down the stretch. Travis Wear was terrific tonight and my hat is off to them, but our basketball team has to get better. We have to be more consistent from start to finish to win games against good teams. That is the bottom line."
on positives from the game
"I thought we played hard, our guys competed. We executed our offense down the stretch like we needed to. But we didn't get a couple of key stops, they made big time shots and made just enough free throws to win the game. Some positives were our effort for the most part and execution down the stretch offensively."
on defensive lulls in the second half
"Maybe I am playing guys too many minutes. I don't know - the only way to find that out is to use my bench more. I look at Andre [Roberson] played 35 minutes, Spencer [Dinwiddie] played 36 minutes, Josh [Scott] played 33. Everyone else was manageable. But that is the one thing I can think of, because defense our guys know how to play, they know what to do, we are a good defensive team when we want to be a good defensive team. I think sometimes we don't pace ourselves, it's hard to play defense the way we want to for forty minutes. I always look at myself as a coach and make sure the rotation is right, are the minutes right? We shrunk our bench tonight, we went with Jeremy [Adams] because of his physicality defensively against these guys tonight instead of Eli [Stalzer] and Xavier [Talton]. I don't know we better figure it out."
on confidence in Colorado's bench
"I do have confidence; the thing with freshman is that I never want to put them in a position to not be successful. But I have confidence in them but I just have to be able to pull the trigger. If I didn't think they were any good I would not have recruited them. What it comes down to sometimes is do we have a better chance with Askia [Booker] or Spencer [Dinwiddie] in there or Eli [Stalzer] and Xavier [Talton] they have proven they can do it but some point you have to say we are 1-3 and now those guys deserve some chances and I thought against USC they really played well. It is on me as a coach and those other guys play better and more consistently and don't make those lulls to make those easier on me but life is not easy."
on getting good shots down the stretch
"Absolutely, we drew that play up and got Askia [Booker] a wide open three in the corner and that would have put it into overtime. Right before that we told Spencer [Dinwiddie] to go to the rim with 10 seconds or so and take a two and put pressure on them at the free throw line to leave time to get a shot off. We got seven or eight seconds to get a shot off and got a great look. We got the shots we wanted offensively. We really did what we set out to do in the last two or three minutes but didn't get a stop when we needed to. They made a great penetration pitch to Wear, a big time shot from a big time player. The thing is margin for error is so thin in these games, and we are playing like our margin for error is like we are still playing Wofford or Texas Southern so this team is not anywhere where it needs to be. We have got to keep plugging and we are going to do it. It is frustrating when you know opportunities are there and you don't take advantage of them. The conference season is long but we are 1-3 right now and now we have a home loss on our record right now which stings and UCLA has two road wins."
key to improving
"Our players have to start taking ownership in what I am talking about and what we are stressing in practice and what our game plans are. If they don't do that, then they are fooling themselves because the reality is we are 1-3 and the reality is our coaching staff knows what we are talking about. We have some guys in different rolls this year that right now are not handling them as well as I would like them to handle it or they would like to handle it. They have to grow up and handle it. It's about saying `I made a mistake, I accept the responsibility of it and I am going to get better.' Until our players can do that we have no shot. That is the key, taking ownership and accountability for your play and the way you execute on both ends of the floor."
on UCLA's play
"I think Ben Howland did a great job of using his timeouts. They were tired early. The first part of the first half midway through I didn't like the pace of the game. We talked about that at timeouts, we want to get them up and down the floor, but that doesn't mean we want to give them transition baskets, they wanted to run early. We gave up 10 transition points, and the whole key to our game plan is to eliminate those transition baskets - some of them were on made field goals, so our guys worked hard, too. I credit UCLA. I thought they used their subs and timeouts well. I thought those kids did what they had to do at the end of the game. They made shots when they needed to make shots, and they made big free throws. I wouldn't say they outworked us - our guys played hard, they just out executed us. I will give them that for sure."
on UCLA's shooting
"I tip my hat to them - as a coach, I am always concerned on our team and where we need to get better and where our deficiencies are and how we need to improve. That is always going to be my focus. That is why I say my hat goes off to UCLA because they did what they had to do to win the game, and we didn't. Sometimes it just comes down to who is making plays and shots and tonight they did and we didn't. We had 14 turnovers, which is too many. We had some empty possessions. We were in the bonus for much of the second half and we wanted to attack the rim. We just didn't do what we needed to do."
on the fastbreak offense
"When we want to be good it is good, when our guys want to run we are pretty good, when they don't want to run they don't run and our fast break is non-existent. It gets back to the consistency I was talking about, you either are going to run the floor or only do it when you feel like it."
Recap | Box Score
UCLA head coach Ben Howland
opening statement
"This is a huge win for us. I thought we had some great performances, and I am so proud of how Kyle [Anderson] knocked down his foul shots. He gets a double-double. He had a double-double last weekend both games against Cal and Stanford. He has a double-double today, he's playing terrific. I thought Jordan Adams was outstanding, a big pass to Travis [Wear] for that lay-up late in the game. He made a big shot. Shabazz [Muhammad] got in foul trouble in the first half so I tried to play him two different instances with two fouls really hoping he wouldn't get his third. But I thought everybody did well; I thought Tony [Parker] and Norman [Powell] gave us great minutes off the bench. David [Wear] had five big rebounds for us, and we ended up only turning it over eleven times. We had too many in the second half, because we had four in the first half it was really low. And to come here at 5,345 feet, and win above sea level is a great thing. So I'm really proud of our team."
on halftime conversations
"I don't think it was a different team, we just were right there and we came out. We're a good second half team, but they came out and really executed. Shabazz [Muhammad] made a big three, and Travis Wear was great. I can't say enough about how good Travis was today. He was really, really good and hard to match up with for the opposing team. I wish that three would've gone, that three at the top of the key. And there was a huge shot, Jordan [Adams] shot in transition that put us up like thirteen with the foul shot. So that was a huge play because you knew that [CU] was going to make a run. I mean this is a good team that we were able to defeat today."
on winning on the road in a difficult environment
"It's the greatest feeling in the world, coming into a tough environment like this where it's us against the world and winning. We had very few Bruin fans here today. Every win is tough, there's nothing easy here. I can't remember when we had an easy win. It's just one game at a time, and this makes the trip going home a lot better when you're coming off a `W,' and to sweep a road trip up here in the mountains is big for us. So I'm really excited for our team and proud of them. I really feel blessed that we continue to stay healthy."
on junior forward Travis Wear
"Dave [Wear] and Travis [Wear] both are really good because they're experienced veterans. Larry [Drew II] is an experienced veteran. Those three guys in particular, they've been in tough places before last year and years before so it's all good."
on strategy down the stretch
"They got us on a couple plays, and what's hard is on the second game of a road trip we had to go Salt Lake City, Utah to Boulder, Colorado playing 7:30 pm in Salt Lake, and noon here really makes it tough in terms of how much you can really dissimilate. I thought our guys did a great job learning stuff, but they had a couple late plays where they have a handoff ball screen to a flare they got a three on. They did a nice job executing down the stretch, were just trying to stay in front of the ball and make our foul shots. We knew it would come down to foul shooting and they had a three to tie the game; my heart was half way down my stomach on that last shot by [Askia] Booker. It was the San Antonio play; it was the same play that Utah ran."
on questions down the road with top players
"Players, they love this environment. Players love it like this. Players love to play, this is great. The best teams are the ones that win on the road and enjoy being the spoiler on the road and winning in a tough environment. That is what is fun. I mean they've all been in games like this before but not to this magnitude in terms of the size of the crowd."
on Travis Wear in the final minutes
"We were going to him because he had it going. We were looking for him, looking for him, looking for him. We had a great offensive rebound sequence; we came out with nothing on that one sequence. Again, I really command our players for their toughness today. And I'll tell you what [CU's] players are very good in the back court; [Spencer] Dinwiddie and [Askia] Booker are outstanding."
on Travis Wear picking up his play
"I think he's picked it up since the Fresno game. It started that next game. And I think it's just that he's a good player, it doesn't surprise me at all, not one bit. We tried to get him a timeout, and some time here and there but we needed him in there because he had it going today. He had it going at the end of the first half too, it kind of carried over."
on being 4-0 in Pac-12 play
"We're where we want to be in the new season which started last Thursday, and we just want to keep building and keep improving. This team has a lot of room to still continue to grow and I'm just really happy for our players because they're working really hard."
on a pivotal point in the game
"I thought that we really did a good job battling to start off the game, and we got off to a good start. And I thought the second half when we made that run to go up 13, we had some really good plays. Shabazz [Muhammad] had a dunk in the open court. We had some plays. Jordan Adams shot that put us up 13 really gave us a shot in the arm, but I have to go back and watch the game."
on Shabazz Muhammad's performance
"You know he still ends up with 14 points, and it's not easy up here. I'll be the first to admit that, I was subbing more getting guys in and out, in and out, trying to give guys quick breaks and breathers. But there was one play I was so excited about for him, in that we missed a shot and sprinted as hard as he could to get back and he was the guy there that saved the basket from occurring for [CU]. Now that's what I'm looking for. His offense is going to be fine; I'm not worried at all about him offensively. That's the least of our worries."
on improving on defense
"We're playing better defense, we're getting better, were evolving and guys are learning. We were at 40 percent the last three games, under 40 against our opponent today. They shot big down the stretch because I bet you going into the last five minutes we were right at 40 [percent] or under. I give them credit, you know, we made some layups late. We're looking to hedge our screens for the most part and looking to double in the post when there's a good post player. They have good young players just like we do. We're happy, it's fun to win."
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle
opening remarks
"Very disappointing and frustrating loss for our basketball program; we have to get better in a lot of different areas. With that said I credit UCLA. They made plays when they needed to, and they made foul shots down the stretch. Travis Wear was terrific tonight and my hat is off to them, but our basketball team has to get better. We have to be more consistent from start to finish to win games against good teams. That is the bottom line."
on positives from the game
"I thought we played hard, our guys competed. We executed our offense down the stretch like we needed to. But we didn't get a couple of key stops, they made big time shots and made just enough free throws to win the game. Some positives were our effort for the most part and execution down the stretch offensively."
on defensive lulls in the second half
"Maybe I am playing guys too many minutes. I don't know - the only way to find that out is to use my bench more. I look at Andre [Roberson] played 35 minutes, Spencer [Dinwiddie] played 36 minutes, Josh [Scott] played 33. Everyone else was manageable. But that is the one thing I can think of, because defense our guys know how to play, they know what to do, we are a good defensive team when we want to be a good defensive team. I think sometimes we don't pace ourselves, it's hard to play defense the way we want to for forty minutes. I always look at myself as a coach and make sure the rotation is right, are the minutes right? We shrunk our bench tonight, we went with Jeremy [Adams] because of his physicality defensively against these guys tonight instead of Eli [Stalzer] and Xavier [Talton]. I don't know we better figure it out."
on confidence in Colorado's bench
"I do have confidence; the thing with freshman is that I never want to put them in a position to not be successful. But I have confidence in them but I just have to be able to pull the trigger. If I didn't think they were any good I would not have recruited them. What it comes down to sometimes is do we have a better chance with Askia [Booker] or Spencer [Dinwiddie] in there or Eli [Stalzer] and Xavier [Talton] they have proven they can do it but some point you have to say we are 1-3 and now those guys deserve some chances and I thought against USC they really played well. It is on me as a coach and those other guys play better and more consistently and don't make those lulls to make those easier on me but life is not easy."
on getting good shots down the stretch
"Absolutely, we drew that play up and got Askia [Booker] a wide open three in the corner and that would have put it into overtime. Right before that we told Spencer [Dinwiddie] to go to the rim with 10 seconds or so and take a two and put pressure on them at the free throw line to leave time to get a shot off. We got seven or eight seconds to get a shot off and got a great look. We got the shots we wanted offensively. We really did what we set out to do in the last two or three minutes but didn't get a stop when we needed to. They made a great penetration pitch to Wear, a big time shot from a big time player. The thing is margin for error is so thin in these games, and we are playing like our margin for error is like we are still playing Wofford or Texas Southern so this team is not anywhere where it needs to be. We have got to keep plugging and we are going to do it. It is frustrating when you know opportunities are there and you don't take advantage of them. The conference season is long but we are 1-3 right now and now we have a home loss on our record right now which stings and UCLA has two road wins."
key to improving
"Our players have to start taking ownership in what I am talking about and what we are stressing in practice and what our game plans are. If they don't do that, then they are fooling themselves because the reality is we are 1-3 and the reality is our coaching staff knows what we are talking about. We have some guys in different rolls this year that right now are not handling them as well as I would like them to handle it or they would like to handle it. They have to grow up and handle it. It's about saying `I made a mistake, I accept the responsibility of it and I am going to get better.' Until our players can do that we have no shot. That is the key, taking ownership and accountability for your play and the way you execute on both ends of the floor."
on UCLA's play
"I think Ben Howland did a great job of using his timeouts. They were tired early. The first part of the first half midway through I didn't like the pace of the game. We talked about that at timeouts, we want to get them up and down the floor, but that doesn't mean we want to give them transition baskets, they wanted to run early. We gave up 10 transition points, and the whole key to our game plan is to eliminate those transition baskets - some of them were on made field goals, so our guys worked hard, too. I credit UCLA. I thought they used their subs and timeouts well. I thought those kids did what they had to do at the end of the game. They made shots when they needed to make shots, and they made big free throws. I wouldn't say they outworked us - our guys played hard, they just out executed us. I will give them that for sure."
on UCLA's shooting
"I tip my hat to them - as a coach, I am always concerned on our team and where we need to get better and where our deficiencies are and how we need to improve. That is always going to be my focus. That is why I say my hat goes off to UCLA because they did what they had to do to win the game, and we didn't. Sometimes it just comes down to who is making plays and shots and tonight they did and we didn't. We had 14 turnovers, which is too many. We had some empty possessions. We were in the bonus for much of the second half and we wanted to attack the rim. We just didn't do what we needed to do."
on the fastbreak offense
"When we want to be good it is good, when our guys want to run we are pretty good, when they don't want to run they don't run and our fast break is non-existent. It gets back to the consistency I was talking about, you either are going to run the floor or only do it when you feel like it."
________________
By Sam Strong
The Daily Bruin
BOULDER, Colo. — Travis Wear was the leader of the pack and it wasn’t even close.
“He led the sprints,” freshman forward Kyle Anderson said of his redshirt junior teammate’s offseason workouts.
According to his teammates, Wear, a forward, is the most well-conditioned athlete on UCLA’s roster. The payoff came Saturday in a 78-75 win over Colorado at Coors Event Center, good for UCLA’s ninth consecutive victory.
Wear led the Bruins with a season-high 23 points.
“He was the best player on the floor,” said Colorado sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie.
For UCLA’s four freshmen, this weekend saw their first conference road trip. On a team with only eight scholarship players – five of whom are from California – 5,345 feet above sea level left them gasping for air.
Anderson said Wear knows “some tricks of the trade” as an upperclassman, but Wear admittedly felt the thin air getting to him at the outset of the game. Not one of the 9,696 fans in attendance could tell, as he led his team down the stretch with 15 second-half points.
“When we’re tired, we just feed our horse,” freshman Jordan Adams said. “He’s out there running and battling. He’s energetic.”
As the game wound down, Wear only got stronger. He scored nine straight points during one stretch in the second half.
“It’s not just sprinting up and down, it’s banging,” Wear added. “It’s running through screens.
Everything is 100 percent. People don’t realize how hard it is to make shots when you feel like you can’t move.”
Wear told himself it was time to “turn it on” prior to the Bruins’ win over the then-No. 7 Missouri Tigers in December. He hasn’t turned it off since. He has scored in double figures in each of UCLA’s last five games since scoring 10 points or fewer in the previous five games.
Some fans have vocalized support for coach Ben Howland to give more of the Wear twins’ minutes to seldom-used freshman Tony Parker.
Wear isn’t conscious of the chatter.
“I don’t pay attention to it,” he said. “There are always going to be people talking. Everyone has their own opinion. I just keep my head down.”
UCLA (13-3, 4-0 Pac-12) became the first team in conference history to sweep the “mountain schools” road trip while Colorado fell to 11-5 overall, 1-3 in conference play. The Bruins will host the Oregon State Beavers and Oregon Ducks next week at Pauley Pavilion.
“He led the sprints,” freshman forward Kyle Anderson said of his redshirt junior teammate’s offseason workouts.
According to his teammates, Wear, a forward, is the most well-conditioned athlete on UCLA’s roster. The payoff came Saturday in a 78-75 win over Colorado at Coors Event Center, good for UCLA’s ninth consecutive victory.
Wear led the Bruins with a season-high 23 points.
“He was the best player on the floor,” said Colorado sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie.
For UCLA’s four freshmen, this weekend saw their first conference road trip. On a team with only eight scholarship players – five of whom are from California – 5,345 feet above sea level left them gasping for air.
Anderson said Wear knows “some tricks of the trade” as an upperclassman, but Wear admittedly felt the thin air getting to him at the outset of the game. Not one of the 9,696 fans in attendance could tell, as he led his team down the stretch with 15 second-half points.
“When we’re tired, we just feed our horse,” freshman Jordan Adams said. “He’s out there running and battling. He’s energetic.”
As the game wound down, Wear only got stronger. He scored nine straight points during one stretch in the second half.
“It’s not just sprinting up and down, it’s banging,” Wear added. “It’s running through screens.
Everything is 100 percent. People don’t realize how hard it is to make shots when you feel like you can’t move.”
Wear told himself it was time to “turn it on” prior to the Bruins’ win over the then-No. 7 Missouri Tigers in December. He hasn’t turned it off since. He has scored in double figures in each of UCLA’s last five games since scoring 10 points or fewer in the previous five games.
Some fans have vocalized support for coach Ben Howland to give more of the Wear twins’ minutes to seldom-used freshman Tony Parker.
Wear isn’t conscious of the chatter.
“I don’t pay attention to it,” he said. “There are always going to be people talking. Everyone has their own opinion. I just keep my head down.”
UCLA (13-3, 4-0 Pac-12) became the first team in conference history to sweep the “mountain schools” road trip while Colorado fell to 11-5 overall, 1-3 in conference play. The Bruins will host the Oregon State Beavers and Oregon Ducks next week at Pauley Pavilion.
________________
Court Visions: Road game win shows Bruins’ growing maturity
The Daily Bruin
BOULDER, Colo. — It’s hard to measure maturity in a team, but a good barometer for it is how players handle road games.
If Jordan Adams’ behavior was any indication, the Bruins relished their chance to deliver a road upset on Saturday. Adams was blowing kisses to the crowd, yelling, pointing to the court like he owned it and taunting the Colorado bench throughout UCLA’s 78-75 win.
It didn’t matter that most Bruins were sucking for air at an altitude that wears on the body, which kept leading scorer Travis Wear both-hands-on-both-knees tired, or that UCLA had to switch play-calling to hand signals as the Buffaloes fans got louder.
For all the talk about UCLA’s lack of road experience, the young Bruins unexpectedly delivered on this trip and left Boulder Saturday with something that hadn’t been accomplished in the short history of the Pac-12: a road sweep of Utah and Colorado, the clearest sign yet that this team’s success is legitimate.
“We’re doing a lot of growing up,” Kyle Anderson said. “The freshmen are playing well, the older guys are helping us out with things we might not know and it’s all coming together.”
After a tough conference road opener in Salt Lake City, where UCLA’s three freshman starters struggled down the stretch, both the young and the old made the plays to survive against Colorado.
The visiting locker room here gives a stern reminder that the Coors Events Center sits at 5,345 feet above sea level, an altitude at which “strenuous exercise should be avoided” and “dizziness should be treated.”
It was advice the Bruins did not heed.
Wear put in a team-leading and career-high 23 points, fighting through the fatigue of the elements. Adams managed to score 18 points and made a number of clutch plays, including free throws to seal the win.
“My team, they feed off my energy,” Adams said. “I get pumped up for no reason. They get pumped, too.”
That display of energy is one of many stark differences in this season’s Bruins, now 14-3 and 4-0 in Pac-12 play, compared to last season’s squad that went 19-14 and never really found its rhythm.
The Bruins could be counted on for almost as much finger-pointing as actual points last season. With everyone assuming more accountability, there’s less pouting and more boasting from guys like Adams, a freshman whose confidence doesn’t correspond to the number of games he’s played.
“I feel like I’m surrounded by a bunch of peers my own age,” said Wear, now playing like the elder statesman of the Bruins that he is. “These guys are mature beyond their years with all the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) they’ve played and all the national notoriety they have. They know what’s expected.”
That’s why this Bruins team has bounced back from losses like last year’s team could not. Their winning streak is now at nine, the last win marking Colorado’s first loss this season on its home floor, the biggest win yet for these baby Bruins.
“It’s maturing,” Adams said. “Early in the year we were immature, taking crazy shots, had egos. We surpassed that.
“We lost to Cal Poly and San Diego State, and we didn’t like the losing feel.”
E-mail Menezes at rmenezes@media.ucla.edu.
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Bruins keep composure in tough road victory
BOULDER, Colo. – A brutal two-game Rocky Mountain road trip was supposed to be kryptonite to a young, inexperienced Bruins roster still getting a grip on the landscape of its own conference.
Three of UCLA's starters had never even played a true road game before. And with matchups in two especially hostile environments, few expected the Bruins to return home unscathed.
But as Colorado continued to push and push on its home court Saturday, cutting into UCLA's one-time double-digit lead, it was UCLA's freshmen trio that stood firm in the game's final moments. The Bruins held on by a thread for the second time in three days for a 78-75 victory – their ninth in a row.
With UCLA up by four with just under a minute remaining, freshman Kyle Anderson delivered the first blow in front of the Buffaloes' raucous crowd, knocking down two free throws to extend the lead to six. Then it was Jordan Adams' turn, as he hit 1 of 2 from the stripe to keep Colorado at arm's length. And after Shabazz Muhammad made one of his two free throws on the next trip down, Adams redeemed himself for the miss on the following possession, hitting the game's final, clinching free throws with just eight ticks left on the clock.
With the game on the line, it was the Bruins' young core that would carry the burden of a taxing mental challenge. And with a final missed 3-pointer from Colorado's Askia Booker – a play that almost mirrored Utah's final missed shot Thursday night – it was UCLA's freshmen that boldly dismissed the notion that their inexperience would hamper them on the road, beating a team that had yet to lose on its home court all season.
"Hitting big free throws down the stretch is huge," said Anderson, who finished with his second double-double in four games. "I think it's a big step in our career. We're shooting toward the crowd. Mentally, you've got to be tough to do it."
"It just proves that we're a tough team down the stretch," Adams added. "We don't lay down. We're going to fight through it."
And fight they did, as the Bruins put together another in a string of improved defensive performances – a night-and-day difference from UCLA's defensive efforts to start the season. Visibly tired playing at a much higher altitude than they're used to, it was pure adrenaline, forward Travis Wear said, that saw the Bruins return every punch Colorado tried to deliver late.
Wear, more than anyone on UCLA's roster, can attest to playing at a high level through that fatigue, as the junior forward collected a career-high 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting, despite being gassed for much of the game.
With each Colorado answer in the game's final five minutes – a span that nearly doomed UCLA against Utah on Thursday – Wear would answer back, as UCLA coach Ben Howland continued to urge his players to feed the junior big man on every possession. That strategy worked wonders for the Bruins, as Wear collected nine consecutive points in the game's final five minutes, outscoring Colorado on his own, 9-8, during that stretch.
"Travis Wear was great," Howland said. "I can't say enough about how good Travis was today. He was really, really good and hard to match up with."
And with Wear excelling, the number of offensive options on the floor for UCLA at any given time was and should continue to be a serious advantage.
"When you've got a lot of weapons and someone has a hot hand, that's what makes this team so good," Wear said. "We've got a lot of guys that can get hot and we have so many options. We're dangerous."
UCLA certainly proved how dangerous it can be in the past three days, winning games in two of the conference's toughest environments. And with an arguably more taxing trip looming two weeks from now against Arizona and Arizona State – two of the conference's best teams – a pair of wins in the mountains showed a resolve that no one expected from the Bruins a month ago.
"We're where we want to be in the new season," Howland said. "We just want to keep building. ... This team has a lot of room to continue to grow."
Contact the writer: rkartje@ocregister.com
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College basketball: UCLA holds on for 78-75 victory over Colorado
Posted: 01/12/2013 01:54:48 PM PST
Updated: 01/12/2013 06:09:46 PM PST
PHOTO GALLERY
BOULDER, Colo. - Ben Howland has seen enough close calls the past three days to last a season. He watched Utah's Glen Dean miss a potential tying 3-pointer in Salt Lake City on Thursday and had to grimly watch another near miss Saturday, this time by Askia Booker at Colorado.
"Utah ran the same play to Dean," the UCLA coach said. "So when Colorado had a three to tie the game, my heart was halfway down my stomach on that last shot by Booker."
But Booker missed, giving the Bruins their ninth consecutive victory 78-75.
Travis Wear scored 14 of his career-high 23 points in the second half and Jordan Adams' two free throws with seven seconds left provided the three-point cushion.
Adams finished with 18 points for UCLA (14-3, 4-0 Pac-12). Shabazz Muhammad added 14 and Kyle Anderson 12 for the Bruins, whose winning streak is their longest since a 10-game streak in 2008-09.
"This is a great win over a very good team," Howland said. "I told our team today before the game that this is a sixth-ranked team in RPI and this is obviously a hard place to win."
UCLA, coming off a season-low 57-point scoring output, improved to 6-1 all-time against the Buffaloes.
After a sluggish first half, UCLA took a 42-37 lead on Wear's short jumper. Booker tied it at 42 with a 3-pointer.
Wear answered with another jumper that started a 14-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer and free throw by Adams, that gave UCLA a 58-45 lead.
Norman Powell kept it a 13-point edge with his own 3-pointer with 8:03 left, but Booker made two free throws to get Colorado back to 72-68.
"Our defense, first of all, was the difference in that stretch," Wear said. "We didn't allow them to make shots. I think we limited them to one shot each trip while we got easy transition buckets."
Spencer Dinwiddie led Colorado (11-5, 1-3) with 23 points. Josh Scott and Booker each had 18 for the Buffaloes, losers of three of their last four.
"We played with too much inconsistency, and I am disappointed with that," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "Fourteen turnovers are too many to defeat a good team."
The Buffaloes gave up 17 points off turnovers. They also allowed UCLA to gain an additional 17 points with its fast break.
"The transition points," Boyle said, shaking his head. "We had made a goal of minimizing transition points."
Dinwiddie's 3-pointer made it 74-71, and the Buffaloes began fouling immediately after each made basket, a strategy that paid off. Adams and Muhammad made only two free throws around another basket by Booker, and Dinwiddie made an uncontested layup to get Colorado to 76-75.
"I told (Dinwiddie) to take the shot that was there," Boyle said. "Make the shot and we'll take our chances with their free throws."
But Sabatino Chen chose to foul Adams, an 82 percent free-throw shooter. Adams sank both attempts to make it 78-75.
"I'm just happy we're up and not on the losing end," Adams said. "So I'm just taking my time and making them."
Colorado had a final chance to tie, but Booker missed his 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"It didn't come down to the last shot," Dinwiddie said. "We had our chances."
Neither team broke free in the first half. There were four ties and 12 lead changes, and Colorado's largest lead was 23-19 after a 3-pointer by Xavier Johnson with 8:01 left.
The Bruins, meanwhile, managed first-half leads of no more than three points. The last one, 35-32, came on Wear's fadeaway in the final minute before halftime.
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UCLA delivers loud message with 78-75 win at Colorado
Bruins celebrate with plenty of screaming in locker room after beating the Buffaloes to improve to 4-0 in Pac-12 Conference play.
By Chris Foster
The Times of LA
5:20 PM PST, January 12, 2013
BOULDER, Colo. -- The collective primal scream that burst through UCLA's locker room door said a lot Saturday. The way Coach Ben Howland barreled through his postgame opening statement said more.
Howland was giddy. Yes, giddy.
"He's happy," forward Travis Wear said. "We all are. We're where we want to be."
That would be heading home, after four days in the mountains that was anything but a trip down the bunny slopes.
The Bruins couldn't exhale until a three-point shot by Askia Booker clanged off the rim, preserving a 78-75 victory. When they did let loose, it had the capability of causing an avalanche.
The postgame scream was "a private team thing," Howland said. But not a regularly scheduled event.
"Coach gets everyone together, brings the young guys up front and we yell," Wear said. "We do it after big wins."
The last one?
"Missouri," Wear said.
It was more than two weeks ago, but worth the wait.
This was the Bruins' ninth consecutive victory and left them undefeated in Pac-12 Conference play. It completed a two-game swing through Utah and Colorado that seemed to show the Bruins' mettle.
The Bruins (14-3, 4-0 in conference play) held up during blizzard conditions and a dicey bus ride in Salt Lake City to get a 57-53 victory over Utah on Thursday.
They endured a cacophony in the final five minutes in the Coors Events Center on Saturday, but the Buffaloes (11-5, 1-3) couldn't erase a 13-point deficit and were left with their first home loss.
"This showed how tough we are," said guard Kyle Anderson, who had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
These are the type of trips that can win conference championships, though Howland wasn't touching that. Asked whether he recalled such a trip in seasons that UCLA won the conference, Howland smiled and said, "I can't remember."
Nor would he be able to remember the last time UCLA came to Boulder. He was 5 years old.
The Bruins left with a loss that day, though since then they have been to 40 NCAA tournaments and Colorado to five. But Saturday had nothing to do with ancient history.
It was Colorado that went to the NCAA tournament last season. The Bruins sat home and watched on television. That made this game, in an arena where the Buffaloes had a 52-7 record since 2010, a stepping-stone moment.
"To be at 5,345 feet above sea level and win is a great thing," Howland said.
Howland knew his geography because the altitude was posted in the locker room, much the way Howland had the altitude in big numbers outside the visitors' locker room when he coached at Northern Arizona.
"The altitude was crazy," Anderson said.
And the crowd worse.
"We couldn't hear a thing out there the last five minutes," said freshman guard Jordan Adams, who had 18 points.
Then Wear went to work. He scored nine points in the last five minutes to blunt the Buffaloes' rally.
The Bruins shot 52%. Wear made 11 of 17 shots. The last four had a librarian's effect on the crowd.
Wear hemmed and hawed a little, but admitted that "it feels good to hit a shot and silence the crowd."
For a time, Wear's gritty work didn't seem to be needed. UCLA went on a 14-2 run midway through the second half. Every point was scored by a freshman. Adams had seven points, including a four-point play — three-point basket and a free throw — for a 58-45 lead.
"It was just a coincidence that it was all freshmen," Anderson said.
Not so, said Wear.
"Those guys can put together runs like that," Wear said. "It was 'bam, bam, bam.'
"That we faced this gives the younger guys confidence. We know we went out and won these kind of games."
Something they screamed to the mountain tops Saturday.
chris.foster@latimes.com
twitter.com/cfosterlatimes
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UCLA 78, Colorado 75: Travis Wear scores career-high 23
For the second straight game, forward Travis Wear kept UCLA afloat against furious rallies. The Bruins (14-3, 4-0) couldn’t have extended their winning streak to nine games without his recent emergence, the 6-foot-10 junior becoming a frighteningly automatic weapon from 15 feet out.
He has now scored double digits in five straight games, something he also did last January. If his shot remains consistent, then UCLA is a very legitimate contender for the Pac-12 title. The win over Colorado (11-5, 1-3) is one of the Bruins’ most impressive this season, proving that the young team can survive on the road while diversifying its offense.
At the very least, Travis has clearly distinguished himself from his twin. David Wear ended the mountain trip with four field goal attempts, finishing with one make. He has yet to play more than 20 minutes in conference play after eclipsing the mark in the prior seven games.
There was a stretch within the game’s last six minutes that was essentially captured the Wears in microcosm. Colorado was in the midst of a 7-0 run, and — as UCLA double-teamed the perimeter — found Josh Scott alone in the post against David Wear. Scott couldn’t find the bucket, but Xavier Johnson streaked in for a rebound and drew the foul against David, who finished with two points.
Two possessions later, Travis Wear cut short the Buffs’ streak and scored UCLA’s next nine points, starting with three-point play helped by Jordan Adams’ heady pass in transition. Colorado fought back with key 3-pointers from Askia Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie — who combined for 12 points in the final 1:08 — but Booker’s attempt to tie at the buzzer drew iron.
The Bruins led by as much as 13 points, and unleashed a punishing 16-3 run midway through the second half. After Shabazz Muhammad turned a Kyle Anderson assist into an emphatic fast-break dunk, Jordan Adams capped that streak by converting a four-point play. Adams was second on the team with 18 points, but did miss a free throw when the Buffs began fouling to get back into the game.
UCLA was up 35-34 over Colorado after the first 20 minutes, the first time Buffs trailed at halftime since a blowout loss at Kansas. Shabazz had another uneven game, shooting 1 of 5 to start the game. He finished with 14 points on 6 of 16 shooting. That the Bruins can win without stellar outings from their best player is rather encouraging.
Notes:
— This is the first time UCLA has won its first two conference road games since 2008-09. The Bruins finished second in the Pac-10 that year, losing to Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
— Larry Drew II had a very lackluster statline with 0 points, five assists and two turnovers. The senior is averaging 6.0 assists away from Pauley Pavilion, compared to 9.18 at home. He turns the ball over 2.33 times in road/neutral games and 1.27 in Westwood. Might have some friendly statisticians in Los Angeles.
— Tony Parker played double-digit minutes for the first time since Dec. 15, when he scored nine points in 18 minutes against Prairie View A&M. The freshman had two points and two rebounds in 13 minutes against the Buffs.
— Kyle Anderson, on Twitter: “I hope i never have to play in colorado again this altitude or w.e is something serious!!”
— This is the first time UCLA has won its first two conference road games since 2008-09. The Bruins finished second in the Pac-10 that year, losing to Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
— Larry Drew II had a very lackluster statline with 0 points, five assists and two turnovers. The senior is averaging 6.0 assists away from Pauley Pavilion, compared to 9.18 at home. He turns the ball over 2.33 times in road/neutral games and 1.27 in Westwood. Might have some friendly statisticians in Los Angeles.
— Tony Parker played double-digit minutes for the first time since Dec. 15, when he scored nine points in 18 minutes against Prairie View A&M. The freshman had two points and two rebounds in 13 minutes against the Buffs.
— Kyle Anderson, on Twitter: “I hope i never have to play in colorado again this altitude or w.e is something serious!!”
Rapid Reaction: UCLA 78, Colorado 75
By Peter Yoon
ESPNLosAngeles.com
January, 12, 2013
1:52 PM PT
UCLA extended its winning streak to nine games by completing a sweep of a mountain road trip with a 78-75 victory Saturday at Colorado. Here's a quick breakdown:
How it happened: Colorado's Askia Booker missed a 3-point shot at the final buzzer, and UCLA, which led by 13 points with eight minutes to play and still had a six-point lead with under a minute to go, held on.
The Bruins (14-3, 4-0 Pac-12) took a 70-63 lead on a jump shot by Travis Wear with 1:25 to play, and that's when the Buffaloes (11-5, 1-3) began to foul. UCLA made 8 of 11 free throws down the stretch, but Spencer Dinwiddie and Booker combined for 12 points in the final 1:08 to keep Colorado in the game.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first half, which featured 13 lead changes and four ties. Dinwiddie made a 15-foot jumper at the first-half buzzer, but the Bruins took a 35-34 lead into halftime.
The Bruins looked as if they would run away in the second half, building a 58-45 lead by holding Colorado without a field goal for a stretch of 6 minutes, 27 seconds.
Colorado's Josh Scott scored eight points during a 15-5 run by the Buffaloes that cut the lead to five points, but UCLA kept Colorado at bay.
Wear scored a career-high 23 points, and Jordan Adams had 18 for the Bruins. Shabazz Muhammad added 14 points and four rebounds, and Kyle Anderson had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Dinwiddie had 23 points for Colorado, and Booker and Scott had 18 each.
Player of the game: Wear was big in the clutch again for UCLA. He scored nine consecutive UCLA points during a stretch of three and a half minutes as Colorado tried to make its run. He got hotter as the game went on, as he had only two points before slamming an alley-oop with 3:38 left in the first half. He scored six of UCLA's first nine points in the second half to get the Bruins rolling and had 15 of his 23 after halftime. He made 11 of 17 shots in the game.
Stat of the game: The Bruins shot 51.7 percent from the field, marking the fifth time in the past seven games that they have shot over 50 percent. That performance came despite Muhammad, UCLA's leading scorer for the season, shooting only 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from the field. Muhammad was 9-of-29 (31 percent) on the two-game road trip, but UCLA showed its scoring depth by winning both games.
What it means: UCLA is a legitimate contender for the Pac-12 title. The jury was still out because the Bruins hadn't played a true road game before this week, but the road sweep -- including in a very difficult environment at Colorado -- should restore some credibility for the Bruins and get them a spot back in the national Top 25.
What's next: UCLA returns home for a Pac-12 game against Oregon State on Thursday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
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I love winning!!!
More of this, please!!!
Go, Bruins!!!
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