UCLA finds better level and rolls to first basketball win, 92-60
The Bruins, coming off two embarrassing losses to start the season, awaken in second half to rout Division II Chaminade at the Maui Invitational.
By Ben Bolch
The Los Angeles Times
11:18 PM PST, November 21, 2011
Reporting from Lahaina, Hawaii — For one half, UCLA returned to its originally scheduled season.
The Bruins had been continually sidetracked during a maddening season-opening stretch that included player suspensions and a pair of unexpected losses to mid-major opponents.
Things threatened to unravel in historic fashion Monday when Coach Ben Howland sat forward Reeves Nelson for the first half as punishment for missing a team bus, and UCLA led Chaminade by only two points at halftime.
The Bruins' first 0-3 start in 71 years seemed a realistic possibility.
That's when the UCLA team that had started the season nationally ranked finally showed up, pushing back the spunky Silverswords for a 92-60 victory at the Lahaina Civic Center in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
Bruins guards Lazeric Jones, Jerime Anderson and Tyler Lamb combined for 52 points and made several key plays during a decisive 29-3 run midway through the second half.
Jones scored 19 points and Anderson and Lamb logged career highs with 18 and 15 points, respectively.
UCLA (1-2) will play No. 14 Kansas (2-1) on Tuesday evening in a semifinal. The Jayhawks defeated Georgetown, 67-63, on Monday.
"Our guards really came to play," said sophomore center Joshua Smith, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as one of five Bruins scoring in double figures.
Anderson made six of eight shots, including four of six three-point attempts, as UCLA shook off its early-season shooting woes to make 19 of 33 (57.6%) in the second half, including six of 11 from beyond the arc.
The Bruins' offense was spurred by tenacious defense that held Division II Chaminade (2-1) to 20% shooting after halftime, including one for 11 on three-point attempts.
Nelson helped the defensive effort with a block and a steal to go with his one point and five rebounds in 11 minutes. He entered the game with 16 minutes 37 seconds remaining after being held out as punishment for missing the Bruins' bus to Los Angeles International Airport two days earlier.
Nelson also missed the team flight to Hawaii, a practice and a players' party Saturday night. Howland said Nelson's alarm clock failed to sound because of a power outage, but the coach "still felt that we had to do something. I wanted to let him know that he's got to do a better job leaving his phone on to be the alarm rather than the electric one that can be blanked out if the electricity goes out."
Nelson had sat out UCLA's 20-point loss to Middle Tennessee State last week while serving a suspension for being late to a team meeting, among other issues. He didn't wait long to make an impact against Chaminade, blocking a shot 46 seconds after stepping onto the floor and then assisting Anderson on a three-pointer shortly after that.
When he stepped to the free-throw line and made one of two shots a few minutes later, the large contingent of Bruins fans greeted him with a prolonged, "Reeeeeves."
"There was a lot more energy coming from every player on our team," Anderson said. "You know, Reeves does that for us."
UCLA did not make Nelson available to reporters after the game.
The Bruins played without junior forward De'End Parker (right knee) and sophomore forward David Wear (concussion). Wear could return as soon as Tuesday but Parker's injury, suffered during practice Saturday, is expected to keep him out longer.
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Men’s basketball scores first win of the season over Chaminade at the Maui Invitational
By RYAN ESHOFF
The Daily Bruin
Published November 22, 2011, 2:02 am in Men's BasketballSports
LAHAINA, HAWAII — A few UCLA fans stood and clapped when Reeves Nelson went to the scorers’ table three minutes into the second half, the Bruins clinging to a small lead.
No more than a minute later, the entire contingent of UCLA faithful nestled into the cozy Lahaina Civic Center stood and roared as the junior forward led the cheers from half court.
Suspended for the first half of the game after missing the team bus and team flight to Hawaii, Nelson’s impact was instantaneous. His entry into the game keyed an epic run that helped the Bruins to a 92-60 victory over Chaminade in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
Nelson finished with just one point in 11 minutes, but he blocked a shot and assisted on a Jerime Anderson three within a minute of his entry. But it was about more than that.
“I really thought when Reeves came into the game, that’s when we broke away,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “Even though he didn’t score many points, he really helped change the game to our way. His energy, playing really hard.”
It didn’t hurt that the Bruins (1-2) shot six-of-11 from the three-point range in the second half, after going just three-for-14 from beyond the arc in the first.
Only up two after the first 20 minutes, UCLA outscored Chaminade (3-1) 52-22 after the intermission. The stretch of hot shooting in the second half had to feel good for the UCLA backcourt, which had struggled from the field in the team’s previous games. Senior guard Lazeric Jones, sophomore guard Tyler Lamb and senior guard Anderson combined for 52 points on 20-of-37 shooting.
The team had to come 3,000 miles, but UCLA finally earned its first victory of the season after befuddling losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State.
“We’re glad to get a win under our belt,” Howland said.
UCLA won’t have any time to feel good about itself. UCLA plays Kansas in the second round of the invitational on Tuesday, meaning there’s little time for snorkeling or keeping an eye out for grass skirts.
“We have to have the mindset that this is a serious trip,” Jones said. “We’re not out here to have fun. We’re out here to get wins. That’s what we have to focus on right now.”
The Bruins were without the services of redshirt sophomore forward David Wear, out with a concussion, and junior guard De’End Parker, who sprained his right knee in practice on Sunday.
They did benefit from the return of sophomore center Anthony Stover, who missed the first two games of the season with a shoulder injury. Stover started the game and was an active force on the defensive end.
As a team, UCLA blocked 12 shots, with sophomore center Joshua Smith recording four, Lamb three and Stover two.
“They’re going to get their blocks because they’re big and athletic,” Anderson said of the Bruin frontline. “They really help us down under.”
That was one of the keys to the night – UCLA got the help it needed down under with the returns of Nelson and Stover. Nelson in particular helped spark what looked like a team eerily reminiscent of the squad that fell with a whimper to Middle Tennessee State, a game that the junior forward was absent from the team for.
“There was a lot more energy coming from every single player on our team (when Nelson entered the game),” Anderson said. “Reeves does that for us, he inspires a lot of guys on our team when he’s out there working hard.”
And while the Bruins will say that they are not in Maui to have fun, for the first time all season it looked like they did just that.
Nelson provided the spark, and his teammates did the most Hawaiian thing they could think of: rode the wave.
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UCLA starts slow but cruises past Chaminade
Orange County Register
Published: Nov. 21, 2011 Updated: 10:30 p.m.
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Lazeric Jones had 19 points, Jerime Anderson added 18 and UCLA ran past Chaminade in the second half for a 92-60 victory in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday.
The Bruins (1-2) were raggedy early, appearing as if they were headed toward an embarrassing loss in a season that's already had a couple.
UCLA turned around quickly, though, hitting 19 of 33 shots in the second half and preventing any thought of a comeback with seven of its 12 blocked shots.
The Bruins move on to face the winner between No. 14 Kansas and Georgetown in Tuesday's semifinals.
Chaminade (3-1) had designs on another upset in its home state, refusing to back down against the bigger Bruins in a tight first half. But the Silverswords didn't have enough to finish this one off, so they head into the losers' bracket.
Lee Bailey had 16 points to lead Chaminade, which hit just 6 of 30 shots in the second half and shot 30 percent overall.
Coming off a trip to the NCAA tournament after a couple of lean years, UCLA entered this season with lofty expectations.
Even after losing forward Tyler Honeycutt and guard Malcolm Lee to the NBA, the Bruins were picked to win the reconfigured Pac-12. With 11 scholarship players at 6-foot-8 or taller, UCLA figured to be a dominating team in the post and even had coach Ben Howland talking about how good the team could be this season.
The Bruins didn't start off that way, opening with a pair of double-digit losses against Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State.
The Bruins allowed Middle Tennessee State to hit 10 of 11 from 3-point range and 71 percent overall after allowing the Lions to hit 10 of 15 from long range.
UCLA has also had to deal with the erratic behavior of forward Reeves Nelson, who was suspended for two days earlier in the season and sat out the first half on Monday after missing the team bus to the airport.
It didn't figure to get any easier once the Bruins arrived here, where seven of the eight teams are coming off NCAA tournament appearances and four are ranked in the Top 25.
And it was tough — because of Chaminade, which was supposed to be the easiest possible draw for UCLA.
The never-back-down Silverswords stood up to the big, bad Bruins from the start, putting the upset in their sights.
Playing under first-year coach Eric Bovaird, Chaminade used its motion offense and freewheeling style to offset UCLA's size, building a 31-25 lead late in the first half after a small scoring burst. The Silverswords trailed by just two at halftime after forcing UCLA into 11 first-half turnovers, and they were helped by the Bruins' poor perimeter shooting — 3 for 14 from 3-point range.
Of course, it wasn't much of a surprise.
Chaminade has had a knack for knocking off giants, starting with its all-time little-guy win over mighty Virginia and Ralph Sampson in 1982, still considered one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. The Silverswords pulled off a smaller takedown last season in Maui, knocking off the Big 12's Oklahoma in the seventh-place game.
This upset bid didn't last long into the second half.
UCLA turned up the defensive pressure and blocked three of Chaminade's first four shots, five in the first four minutes.Jones found seams in Chaminade's defense to get to the rim, and the Bruins starting knocking down 3-pointers, with Tyler Lamb and Anderson hitting on consecutive trips to put them up nine. Jones and Norman Powell went back-to-back a few minutes later, giving UCLA a 62-48 lead to start the rout.
Lamb finished with 15 points, Joshua Smith added 12 and Anderson was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
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UCLA BASKETBALL: Bruins find confidence boost, roll past Chaminade 92-60
By John Marshall The Associated Press
Posted: 11/21/2011 10:40:33 PM PST
Updated: 11/21/2011 11:06:35 PM PST
LAHAINA, Hawaii - Clinging to a lead over another supposedly overmatched opponent, UCLA could have had that here-we-go-again feeling.
Instead, the Bruins felt something different: They were going to win.
Lazeric Jones had 19 points, Jerime Anderson added 18 and UCLA ran past upset-minded Chaminade in the second half for a 92-60 victory in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday.
The Bruins (1-2) were raggedy early, appearing as if they were headed toward an embarrassing loss in a season that's already had a couple.
UCLA turned around quickly, though, using a 29-3 run to turn a close game into a rout. The Bruins hit 19 of 33 shots in the second half and prevented any thought of a comeback with seven of their 12 blocked shots to earn a spot in the semifinals against No. 14 Kansas or Georgetown.
"It felt different in the locker room. I could see everybody was feeling confident, and you could see everybody was feeling anxious to get back on the floor and work hard," Jones said. "From the beginning, we came out with some energy that we haven't seen, so I felt like this was a turning point for us."
Chaminade (3-1) had designs on another upset in its home state, refusing to back down against the bigger Bruins in a tight first half. The Silverswords didn't have enough to finish this one off, sending them to the losers' bracket for the sixth time in seven years.
Lee Bailey had 16 points to lead Chaminade, which hit just 6 of 30 shots in the second half and shot 30 percent overall.
"Our guys played tough, they didn't give up," Chaminade first-year coach Eric Bovaird said. "As you could see in the first half, we were in a ball game. Unfortunately, we just weren't able to stop them in the second half and struggled a little bit offensively."
Coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament after a couple of lean years, UCLA entered this season with lofty expectations.
Even after losing forward Tyler Honeycutt and guard Malcolm Lee to the NBA, the Bruins were picked to win the reconfigured Pac-12. With 11 scholarship players at 6-foot-8 or taller, UCLA figured to be a dominating team in the post and even had coach Ben Howland talking about how good the team could be this season.
The Bruins didn't start off that way, opening with a pair of double-digit losses against Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee.
The Bruins allowed Middle Tennessee to hit 10 of 11 from 3-point range and 71 percent overall after allowing the Lions to hit 10 of 15 from long range.
UCLA has also had to deal with the erratic behavior of forward Reeves Nelson, who was suspended for two days earlier in the season and sat out the first half on Monday after missing the team bus to the airport.
It didn't figure to get any easier once the Bruins arrived here, where seven of the eight teams are coming off NCAA Tournament appearances and four are ranked in the Top 25.
And it was tough - because of Chaminade, which was supposed to be the easiest possible draw for UCLA.
The never-back-down Silverswords stood up to the big, bad Bruins from the start, putting the upset in their sights.
Playing under first-year coach Eric Bovaird, Chaminade used its motion offense and freewheeling style to offset UCLA's size, building a 31-25 lead late in the first half after a small scoring burst. The Silverswords trailed by just two at halftime after forcing UCLA into 11 first-half turnovers, and they were helped by the Bruins' poor perimeter shooting - 3 for 14 from 3-point range.
Of course, it wasn't much of a surprise.
Chaminade has had a knack for knocking off giants, starting with its all-time little-guy win over mighty Virginia and Ralph Sampson in 1982, still considered one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. The Silverswords pulled off a smaller takedown last season in Maui, knocking off the Big 12's Oklahoma in the seventh-place game.
"I thought we really battled in the first half," Bovaird said. "I thought we had a great game plan for them. I thought our guys played really, really well."
This upset bid didn't last long into the second half.
UCLA turned up the defensive pressure and blocked three of Chaminade's first four shots, five in the first four minutes.
Jones found seams in Chaminade's defense to get to the rim, and the Bruins starting knocking down 3-pointers, with Tyler Lamb and Anderson hitting on consecutive trips to put them up nine. Jones and Norman Powell went back-to-back a few minutes later, giving UCLA a 62-48 lead to start the rout.
Lamb finished with 15 points, Joshua Smith added 12 and Anderson was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
"We're glad to get a win under our belt," Howland said.
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