Bruins rise early, finish late and beat Stanford, 68-57
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."
No matter what time of day.
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Bruins rally to defeat Stanford, 68-57
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.
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UCLA basketball gets wake-up call just in time to beat Stanford
By Jon Gold Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 01/22/2011 10:27:16 PM PST
Updated: 01/22/2011 10:45:08 PM PST
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."
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UCLA wakes up, rolls over Stanford
Published: Jan. 22, 2011
Updated: 5:40 p.m.
By ADAM MAYA
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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.
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UCLA's Lee puts it together
Published: Jan. 22, 2011 7:46 p.m.
By ADAM MAYA
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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.
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Men’s basketball overcomes Stanford in second half to a 68-57 win led by Malcolm Lee, Lazeric Jones and Tyler Honeycutt
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.”
Click boxscore to enlarge (from Yahoo Sports)
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