UCLA butts Colorado State 75-63

Slowly but surely, UCLA appears to be flickering on all cylinders.

From a Los Angeles downtown court to the basketball court, Nikola Dragovic, the ballplayer, shows up and leads the team in scoring with 17 points.

The Bruins handle the Rams with balanced scoring. All five starters score in double figures:

Reeves Nelson 15 pts
Nikola Dragovic 17 pts
Malcolm Lee 16 pts
Jerime Anderson 12 pts, 7 assists (5 turnovers)
Michael Roll 11 pts

Brendan Lane scores all of the bench's 4 points as Mustafa Absul-Hamid, J'mison Morgan and Tyler Honeycutt collectively muster a big fat ZERO the whole time they were on the floor.

 

Nikola Dragovic comes to Bruins' rescue

Forward finds a hot hand to lead a big rally in the second half and finishes with a game-high 17 points.

By David Wharton
The Los Angeles Times
December 23, 2009

Another day in court still awaits Nikola Dragovic, about a month or so down the line.

The UCLA forward still must answer to a felony charge stemming from a recent fight at a Hollywood concert.

But the mere act of standing in front of a judge this week, pleading not guilty, seems to have done wonders for Dragovic on another type of court.

"Just by not having to deal with lawyers, not going to meetings, just even think about it, I'm able to put more time into basketball," Dragovic said.



UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic, center, of Serbia, penetrates the double coverage from Colorado State forward Travis Busch (10) and guard Jesse Carr, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, in Los Angeles. UCLA won 75-63.
GUS RUELAS, AP

On Tuesday night, that translated into a scoring outburst in the second half for the long-slumping senior, a flurry of points that helped the Bruins to a 75-63 victory over Colorado State at Pauley Pavilion.

The win was equally meaningful for his coach and teammates, sending them home for the holidays with smiles on their faces.

"It would have been a really, really miserable Christmas coming off a loss," Coach Ben Howland said.

This game was supposed to come gift-wrapped, Colorado State (8-4) offered up as a badly needed victory after a tough loss at Notre Dame over the weekend.

It turned out to be a much bumpier road for UCLA (4-7), requiring Dragovic's contribution and a comeback, because of some persistent struggles.

The Bruins committed too many turnovers. At the defensive end of the court, they left too many shooters open.

The game started out well enough, with guard Malcolm Lee continuing his hot streak, scoring on a three-point basket and a drive, to give his team the lead.



UCLA guard Malcolm Lee (3) attempts to get over Colorado State forward Mame Bocar Ba, right, of Senegal, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, in Los Angeles.
GUS RUELAS, AP

Reeves Nelson also looked good, on his way to 15 points and six rebounds.

But then the Bruins stalled.

Guard Jerime Anderson jumped into the air with nowhere to pass, letting the ball drift away for a turnover. Wide-open Bruins looked hesitant, passing up shots.

Colorado State responded with an 8-3 run and the score was tied, 34-34, at halftime, scattered boos drizzling down from the crowd of 6,755.

Inconsistency has worried Howland, especially with the start of the conference schedule barely a week away.

"We have to improve," he said. "It's going to be a whole new season when you get to Pac-10 play."

The coach could not have been happy with what he saw in the opening minutes of the second half.

Colorado State looked to be a team on the rise, relying less and less on perimeter shots, pushing inside and drawing fouls to open a lead that held up through much of the second half.

Then Dragovic caught fire, finding the best way to break a drought that had him shooting 27% this season. Forcing his way into the lane, he scored from short range and got two more points on free throws.

Just that quickly, he found a rhythm and was on his way to a game-high 17 points.

"I just had a shorter man on me," he said. "I told Jerime to look inside and he did."

At the same time, the Bruins were slowing down and cutting down on the turnovers while turning the defense up a notch or two.

The Rams' top scorers -- center Andy Ogide finished with 14 points and forward Travis Franklin with 13 -- no longer found open shots or wide lanes to the basket.

"We just got out-toughed the last eight to nine minutes," Coach Tim Miles said. "We didn't get the right type of stops. I think when we look at the film, our guys will realize that trying is not good enough."

It all added up to a 27-9 run for UCLA in the final nine minutes or so, turning all those boos into cheers, a nail-biter transformed into a victory going away.

Consider it an early Christmas at Pauley Pavilion, the best kind of present for a team on the ropes.

For Dragovic, it was welcome respite from any thoughts about his next day in court, a hearing Feb. 1 to set a date for his preliminary hearing.

"It means a lot," he said.

For a player with much on his mind recently, it meant something to smile about.
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Dragovic plays like his old self, helps Bruins outlast Colorado State
By Jon Gold Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
dailybreeze.com
Posted: 12/23/2009 12:03:52 AM PST

UCLA BASKETBALL: Forward leads rally, finishes with team-high 17 points..

Nikola Dragovic made one thing clear on Tuesday night: The weight is over.

Bogged down by felony assault charges for more than a month, Dragovic finally made it past the second stage of the process Monday, pleading not guilty in a Los Angeles court. The conversations with lawyers and interviews with investigators were like an albatross around his shoulders, dragging him down even as he tried to lift UCLA.

With all that behind him, Dragovic turned his full attention to the Bruins' contest Tuesday against Colorado State, and it showed in UCLA's 75-63 victory at Pauley Pavilion.

After a middling first half, Dragovic scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second, taking over just when UCLA (4-7) needed it most. With less than 12minutes left, Dragovic made an inside shot, two free throws and a 3-pointer to help trim the Rams' lead to two points.

Then, with less than seven minutes left and Colorado State up four, Dragovic was fouled on a 3-pointer and converted all three shots.

Freshman forward Reeves Nelson came back on the next possession and made two more free throws to put the Bruins up one, and they never trailed again.

"Just by not having to deal with lawyers, having to go to meetings, even think about it, I'm able to put more time into basketball," said Dragovic, who made 5 of 8 shots and all five free throws. "At practice, I don't have any problems. I think it's always been there. I just have to keep working."

Early in the game, nothing was working for the Bruins.

In a two-minute stretch midway through the first half, Colorado State (8-4) went from down three to up five, as UCLA committed turnover after turnover, 12 in total at the half.

"We had a lot of careless mistakes, especially in transition," said sophomore guard Malcolm Lee, who 16 points and seven rebounds in a game-high 39 minutes. We should have had more patience with the ball and capitalized.

"But we learned in the second half and adjusted pretty well."

Late in the second half, the Bruins discovered a gaping hole in the undersized Rams' inside defense, and responded with a 17-4 run to close the game.

With the 6-foot-9 Dragovic working in the post against Colorado State's 6-4 forward Travis Busch, UCLA started to take advantage in the key, scoring 16 second-half points in the paint.

"I just had a shorter man on me, and I told (point guard Jerime Anderson) to look inside," said Dragovic, who entered the game shooting just 27 percent from the field.

"I was able to kind of shoot over him. People usually tell me I don't have that inside game with my back to the rim, but that's why I worked on it this summer.

"Most of the teams try to play small against us, and it's a good thing we can fight back."
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UCLA wins 75-63 over Colorado State
The Associated Press
from The Silicon Valley Mercury News
Posted: 12/22/2009 11:10:32 PM PST
Updated: 12/22/2009 11:10:32 PM PST

LOS ANGELES—Nikola Dragovic led UCLA with 17 points as the Bruins went on to defeat Colorado State 75-63 on Tuesday night

UCLA (4-7) didn't take the lead in the second half until Reeves Nelson hit a pair of free throws with 6:21 left. UCLA went on a 29-9 run after falling behind, 54-46, with 11:45 left.

"That might have been the first time we fought back after being down all season," Dragovic said. "It would have been a terrible next three days."

"We showed the poise to come back," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We were down by eight and won by 12."

All five starters finished in double figures. Malcolm Lee had 16 and Nelson finished with 15. Michael Roll, fighting off the flu, added 11 as did Jerime Anderson.

Colorado State was led by Adam Ogide's 14 points with Travis Franklin adding 13 and Adam Nigon 10.

"I think they just out-toughed us the last eight-nine minutes," Rams coach Tim Miles said. "They shot the three, which is something that this year UCLA is not that good at doing."

UCLA had to overcome a dozen turnovers before intermission that allowed Colorado State to stay tied 34-34 at half, before the Bruins pulled away in the second.

With senior James Keefe out with a separated shoulder, UCLA at times showed an all-freshmen front line with Brendan Lane and Tyler Honeycutt on the floor with Nelson.

The most noticeable area of improvement for UCLA was the Bruins' shooting, as they hit 51.1 percent from the field (24 of 47), 60.0 percent from three-point range (9 of 15)and 78.3 percent from the free throw line (18 of 23).
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Sloppy Bruins right ship at end
By AL BALDERAS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
December 22, 2009 10:57 PM

LOS ANGELES - UCLA's basketball team found a way to win in spite of itself.

The Bruins committed 19 turnovers and looked like a team that was thinking more about Christmas than basketball in a Tuesday-night nonconference showdown with Colorado State.

UCLA got things right late in the second half, using a 20-2 run to beat the Rams, 75-63, at Pauley Pavilion.

"I think that was the best part of the game because it was the first time we fought back after being down by eight," said Nikola Dragovic, who led the Bruins with 17 points.

Malcolm Lee, held under 20 points for the first time in his last three games, scored 16. Lee's points came in handy, considering he had four of the Bruins' 12 turnovers in the first half.

"I'm glad we got the win," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "That was a very shaky first half with the turnovers. We've been pretty good the last few games at not turning the ball over. There were a lot of poor passes."

Despite all of the mistakes, the Bruins went into halftime locked in a 34-34 tie. The Rams took their biggest lead of the game, 54-46, with 11:44 left in the game but that was when the Bruins' offense started to respond.

The Bruins cut the lead to two points when Dragovic hit a 3-point shot from the right wing, with 9:36 on the clock. A couple of free throws by Greg Smith made it a four-point game again.

Jerime Anderson (12 points) scored on a short jump shot to push the Rams' lead back to two points, but Andy Ogide, who scored a team-high 14 points for Colorado State, broke through Dragovic and Reeves Nelson to score on a layup.

Ogide's basket gave the Rams a 59-55 lead with 7:47 remaining. The Rams scored four points the rest of the way, with two coming on the game's final basket.

"We just got out-toughed in the last eight-nine minutes of the game," Colorado State coach Tim Miles said. "We didn't get the right type of stops."

The key basket during the Bruins' 20-2 run was scored by Michael Roll, who hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 4:23 on the clock. Roll's basket turned a two-point UCLA lead into a five-point advantage.

"Mike hit that big shot in the corner that was really the key juncture of the game against their zone," Howland said.

Roll missed practice on Monday because he had the stomach flu. Howland tried to limit Roll's minutes, especially when Roll picked up his third foul early in the second half.

The Bruins (4-7) are hoping to use the come-from-behind victory as a lesson learned. They're expecting to be involved in a lot of close games when Pac-10 play begins at the end of the month.

"This was a really good test for us," Lee said. "We really needed something like this just to show the ability that we can come back. We gained that much more experience. At the end, I think this is better for us.

"There are going to be games like this later down the road where we're going to be down. We're going to have to show our character and our passion to come back and keep fighting."

Nelson finished with 15 points while Roll had 11.
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UCLA gets lift from Dragovic in victory over Colorado State
By Jon Gold Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Updated: 12/22/2009 11:36:44 PM PST


Nikola Dragovic made one thing clear on Tuesday night: The weight is over.

Bogged down by felony assault charges for more than a month, Dragovic finally made it past the second stage of the process Monday, pleading not guilty in a Los Angeles court. The conversations with lawyers and interviews with investigators were like an albatross around his shoulders, dragging him down even as he tried to lift UCLA.

With all that behind him, Dragovic turned his full attention to the Bruins' contest Tuesday against Colorado State, and it showed in UCLA's 75-63 victory at Pauley Pavilion.

After a middling first half, Dragovic scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second, taking over just when UCLA (4-7) needed it most. With less than 12 minutes left, Dragovic made an inside shot, two free throws and a 3-pointer to help trim the Rams' lead to two points.

Then, with less than seven minutes left and Colorado State up four, Dragovic was fouled on a 3-pointer and converted all three shots.

Freshman forward Reeves Nelson came back on the next possession and made two more free throws to put the Bruins up one, and they never trailed again.

"Just by not having to deal with lawyers, having to go to meetings, even think about it, I'm able to put more time into basketball," said Dragovic, who made 5 of 8 shots and all five free throws. "At practice, I don't have any problems. I think it's always been there. I just have to keep working."

Early in the game, nothing was working for the Bruins.

In a two-minute stretch midway through the first half, Colorado State (8-4) went from down three to up five, as UCLA committed turnover after turnover, 12 in total at the half.

"We had a lot of careless mistakes, especially in transition," said sophomore guard Malcolm Lee, who 16 points and seven rebounds in a game-high 39 minutes. We should have had more patience with the ball and capitalized.

"But we learned in the second half and adjusted pretty well."

Late in the second half, the Bruins discovered a gaping hole in the undersized Rams' inside defense, and responded with a 17-4 run to close the game.

With the 6-foot-9 Dragovic working in the post against Colorado State's 6-4 forward Travis Busch, UCLA started to take advantage in the key, scoring 16 second-half points in the paint.

"I just had a shorter man on me, and I told (point guard Jerime Anderson) to look inside," said Dragovic, who entered the game shooting just 27 percent from the field.

"I was able to kind of shoot over him. People usually tell me I don't have that inside game with my back to the rim, but that's why I worked on it this summer.

"Most of the teams try to play small against us, and it's a good thing we can fight back."

For what seems like ages, the Bruins were indeed able to claw their way back from a large deficit.

After the game, the players did not seem proud as much as relieved, simply to get the monkey off their back.

None more so than Dragovic, even if his teammates did not see the off-court issues affect him on the court.

"Nikola's a shooter and he doesn't really let things get into his head," said point guard Jerime Anderson, who had 12 points, seven assists and four rebounds. "He just shoots, and he continues to shoot, and he should always do that. The best thing for him to do is keep shooting, he did tonight and he made the shots we needed."
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Second-half run bails out Bruins

UCLA 75 COLORADO STATE 63 Trailing by eight, they outscore the Rams, 29-9.

The Associated Press
The Press-Enterprise
10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, December 22, 2009

LOS ANGELES - Trailing for most of the night, the UCLA Bruins put on a spirited second-half rally to beat Colorado State, 75-63, Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Down 54-46 with 11:45 left, the Bruins went on a 29-9 run to surge into the lead and held on. They didn't take the lead for the first time in the second half until freshman Reeves Nelson (15 points) hit two free throws with 6:21 left.

Senior Nikola Dragovic led UCLA with 17 points, and sophomore Malcolm Lee had 16. Lee, who starred at Riverside North, had 29 points in his previous game against Notre Dame. Michael Roll, fighting off the flu, and point guard Jerime Anderson had 11 points each.

"I think they just out-toughed us the last eight-nine minutes," Colorado State coach Tim Miles said. "They shot the three, which is something that this year UCLA is not that good at doing."

The most noticeable area of improvement for UCLA was the Bruins' shooting, as they hit 51.1 percent from the field (24 of 47), 60 percent from three-point range (9 of 15)and 78.3 percent from the free throw line (18 of 23).

The Bruins committed 12 turnovers in the first half, which ended in a 34-34 tie.

UCLA at times used an all-freshman front line of Brendan Lane, Tyler Honeycutt and Nelson.

Colorado State (8-4) was led by Adam Ogide's 14 points. Travis Franklin contributed 13 and Adam Nigon 10.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Bruins find their rhythm late
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 12/22/2009 10:45:35 PM PST


LOS ANGELES - Every once in a while, the UCLA men's basketball team will get into a fast break, start moving the ball, hit the passing lanes and cap it off with a simple layup. Fans will cheer, head coach Ben Howland will nod and all is right in the world.
And then they'll follow that up with a turnover, as they did often against Colorado State on Tuesday and, once again, Bruins boosters will hang their heads.

But as the second half wore on and UCLA started to find some offensive rhythm with six minutes left, Howland and the fans - and even the players - were reminded there is talent lurking in Westwood, even if it has been inconsistent.

UCLA defeated Colorado State 75-63 at Pauley Pavilion despite committing 12 first-half turnovers and 18 for the game.

Sure, there are moments - often created by leading scorer Malcolm Lee, who had 16 points and three 3-pointers - but with such a young team, the good is followed by the bad.

Such is life with six underclassmen in the rotation.

"You just have to really put yourself into games and learn on the run," said UCLA freshman forward Reeves Nelson, who had 15 points and six rebounds for the 4-7 Bruins. "There's not a time to get babied along, especially with the quality of teams we've been playing. You kind of have to take your lumps and learn when you can."

The baby Bruins have had to come to grips with Howland's intense defense and structured offense. Too often, they've lost that grip.

Early in the second half against the Rams, UCLA got into a fast break and Lee appeared headed for an easy bucket. But he lost the ball, the Bruins lost an opportunity to cut into Colorado State's 44-40 lead and the crowd let out a collective groan.
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Men's basketball recap: Bruins rally past Rams, 75-63

Rams' four-game streak snapped at Pauley Pavilion

By Danny Mattie
Athletic Media Relations
The Official CSU Rams Men's Basketball website
Dec. 23, 2009

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Colorado State men’s basketball team had its four-game win streak snapped Tuesday night, as the UCLA Bruins stormed back from an eight-point second-half deficit, and outscored the Rams 20-4 over the final 7 minutes of the game to defeat CSU, 75-63, in front of 6,755 fans at Pauley Pavilion.

“I thought we played well tonight,” said Head Coach Tim Miles. “We just got out-toughed the last 8-9 minutes of the game. I have to give UCLA credit, we did a lot of things right, but they shot the three well – which is something that they haven’t done this year.”

The Rams used a strong defensive effort and hustle early in the contest to force the Bruins into 19 turnovers. Following an 8-0 run between the 13:51 and 11:45 marks of the second half, the Rams held a 54-46 advantage on the road over one of the top programs in NCAA history.

However, senior F Nikola Dragovic tallied 14 of his game- and season-high 17 points in the final 11:27 to lead the Bruins (4-7) to just their second victory in the past eight contests. The loss moved the Rams to 8-4 with two games left on their non-conference slate.

Junior F Andy Ogide led the Rams with 14 points and six rebounds in the contest, adding two quick scores on back-to-back offensive rebounds to cap that Rams’ 8-0 run. Overall, the Rams were outrebounded 34-26 in the contest, but CSU recorded eight offensive rebounds, three each by Ogide and freshman F Pierce Hornung.

Hornung also added a team-leading four assists in the contest, but fouled out late in the second half with just two points to go along with his four total rebounds.

After coming out of halftime tied, 34-34, junior F Travis Franklin played a key role in the Rams’ run, scoring five of his 13 points in the first 3:12 of the closing stanza. Junior F Adam Nigon also finished in double-figures for the Rams, tallying 10 points.

The Bruins didn’t regain their final lead until the 6:21 mark of the second half, after leading by just one point for only 25 seconds over the first 13 minutes of the second half.

Overall the Rams shot 41 percent for the field, while the Bruins connected on 51 percent of their shots, including a 60 percent (9-for-15) clip from beyond the arc. CSU connected on 5-of-13 attempts from long range, but was just 1-for-4 in the second half.