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Shabazz Muhammad, Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson combine for 72 points and 31 rebounds, with Adams making key plays to rally the Bruins after they fall behind early.
December 22, 2012, 11:21 p.m.
Jordan Adams played big, as if he was a foot taller than his listed height of 6 feet 5. And he played quick, as if he was a foot smaller.
It was Adams who jump-started a UCLA comeback in the first half, it was Adams who hit a layup to cap a mad scramble that helped his team to an unexpected halftime lead, and it was Adams whose energy pushed UCLA to a 91-78 win over Fresno State on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Adams was one of a trio of UCLA freshman who scored in double figures. He had 25 points and 15 of those came in the first half when UCLA was trying to hang on.
Shabazz Muhammad finished with a career-high 27 points, 20 in the second half when the Bruins were pulling away. And a third freshman, guard Kyle Anderson, had 20 points and 17 rebounds, both career highs.
In all, the three freshmen combined for 72 points and 31 rebounds for the Bruins (9-3), who shook off a sluggish start and finished the first half with a 12-3 run to take a tenuous 39-36 lead into the locker room.
"I thought this team was exactly what we expected," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said of Fresno State. "They were very patient and our guys hung in there tough.
"I'm just glad our young guys are getting this experience. We do have to get better defensively but this has been one of our best teams in taking care of the basketball."
UCLA had only 10 turnovers and out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 42-26.
Fresno State (5-7) missed its first five shots in the game but the Bruins couldn't immediately take advantage. At one point the Bulldogs had a nine-point lead, 25-16, and a loud but lonely-sounding UCLA fan screamed "Go Bruins," in a voice more angry than pleading.
Adams certainly listened. He hit a layup 44 seconds before halftime to cap that end-of-the half scramble and finished the first 20 minutes with 15 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Anderson had nine first-half points and eight rebounds.
That UCLA had a halftime lead was surprising, after Fresno State's Kevin Olekaibe made a wide-open three-point shot to give the Bulldogs the 25-16 lead.
UCLA's comeback began immediately, though. It was jump-started by Adams' three-point play (layup and free throw), which caused Adams to pound his chest and seemed to energize the entire team.
The Bruins shot 36 of 62 from the field (58.1%) in the game.
Anderson's three-pointer with 17:36 left in the game gave the Bruins a 46-38 lead, their biggest of the game.
Point guard Larry Drew II had his first points of the game with a layup that gave UCLA its first double-digit lead, 54-44, and an Adams three-pointer made it 57-46.
When Muhammad, swished a three-pointer with 11:58 left, the Bruins led 62-49 and it almost felt as if a blowout was in the making.
diane.pucin@latimes.com
twitter.com/mepucin
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LOS ANGELES - All throughout the first half of Saturday night's nonconference game against Mountain West adversary Fresno State, those who filled Pauley Pavilion waited patiently — then, rather impatiently — for UCLA to pull away from the Bulldogs.
It took nearly 20 minutes — and a barrage of baskets by Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson late in the half — for the home team to do so, but the Bruins (9-3) managed their fourth consecutive victory quite convincingly nonetheless.
In extending its win streak to a season-high four games, UCLA rode the hot hands of Adams and fellow freshman Shabazz Muhammad to a 91-78 victory over Fresno State (5-7).
“We're at the one-third part of the season and I think our team is improving from where we were at in November,” Bruins coach Ben Howland said. “We still have to get better defensively, but one thing that's really unique with this team is it's probably one of the best teams I've had in terms of taking care of the basketball.”
In becoming the first pair of UCLA freshman to score 20-plus points in consecutive games, Muhammad finished with a career-high 27 points — 20 in the second half — and Adams added 25 with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
“He (Adams) is a fantastic basketball player along with his skill set,” Howland said of the freshman. “He's really unselfish and a pleasure to coach. He's better than I expected.”
Kyle Anderson — another freshman — posted his third double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
UCLA outrebounded Fresno State, 42-26, while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field.
“I'm happy with the win,” Howland said. “I think our offense in both halves was really solid. It was exactly what we expected when they (Bulldogs) came in. ... Our guys hung in there tough, and those are the types of teams that are going to be tough for us.”
During a first half kept close by effective 3-point shooting, Fresno State surged ahead by nine with a 12-1 run midway through the half.
Despite scoring on its next six possessions, UCLA still trailed by six near the 3-minute mark.
Yet, baskets from Muhammad, Norman Powell, Adams and Anderson, coupled with efficient defense, sparked a 12-3 spurt to close the half.
“That was really big,” Howland said of the run. “We started getting a little better defensively, and it was important for us to have the lead going into halftime.
“... Every game is going to be a dogfight for us.”
With a three-point advantage after 20 minutes, the Bruins — who don't play again until Friday when they play host to Missouri — effectively put the game out of reach early in the second half.
Spurred by four points from both Muhammad and Anderson, UCLA upped its lead to nine points.
The Bruins wound up scoring on its next nine possessions to jump ahead by 16 midway through the second half.
UCLA led by no less than 11 points the rest of the game.
Fresno State guard Marvelle Harris poured in a career-high 19 points.
It took nearly 20 minutes — and a barrage of baskets by Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson late in the half — for the home team to do so, but the Bruins (9-3) managed their fourth consecutive victory quite convincingly nonetheless.
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| Shabazz Muhammad (15) of the UCLA Bruins goes up for a loose ball with Aaron Anderson (11) of the Fresno State Bulldogs at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday. UCLA won 91-78.
Stephen Dunn, Getty Images
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“We're at the one-third part of the season and I think our team is improving from where we were at in November,” Bruins coach Ben Howland said. “We still have to get better defensively, but one thing that's really unique with this team is it's probably one of the best teams I've had in terms of taking care of the basketball.”
In becoming the first pair of UCLA freshman to score 20-plus points in consecutive games, Muhammad finished with a career-high 27 points — 20 in the second half — and Adams added 25 with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
“He (Adams) is a fantastic basketball player along with his skill set,” Howland said of the freshman. “He's really unselfish and a pleasure to coach. He's better than I expected.”
Kyle Anderson — another freshman — posted his third double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
UCLA outrebounded Fresno State, 42-26, while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field.
“I'm happy with the win,” Howland said. “I think our offense in both halves was really solid. It was exactly what we expected when they (Bulldogs) came in. ... Our guys hung in there tough, and those are the types of teams that are going to be tough for us.”
During a first half kept close by effective 3-point shooting, Fresno State surged ahead by nine with a 12-1 run midway through the half.
Despite scoring on its next six possessions, UCLA still trailed by six near the 3-minute mark.
Yet, baskets from Muhammad, Norman Powell, Adams and Anderson, coupled with efficient defense, sparked a 12-3 spurt to close the half.
“That was really big,” Howland said of the run. “We started getting a little better defensively, and it was important for us to have the lead going into halftime.
“... Every game is going to be a dogfight for us.”
With a three-point advantage after 20 minutes, the Bruins — who don't play again until Friday when they play host to Missouri — effectively put the game out of reach early in the second half.
Spurred by four points from both Muhammad and Anderson, UCLA upped its lead to nine points.
The Bruins wound up scoring on its next nine possessions to jump ahead by 16 midway through the second half.
UCLA led by no less than 11 points the rest of the game.
Fresno State guard Marvelle Harris poured in a career-high 19 points.
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 12/22/2012 11:54:43 PM PST
Since nothing has been easy for the Bruins in the opening months of the
season, maybe it was too much to expect a wire-to-wire victory over the
struggling Bulldogs, losers of four in a row. It just took a little longer than
anyone might have expected for UCLA to pull away.
In the end, the Bruins' best players were their best players.
Freshmen Shabazz Muhammad, Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson and senior Larry
Drew II propelled UCLA (9-3) to a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of
the second half after the Bruins rallied from a nine-point deficit to lead 39-36
at halftime.
Muhammad scored 20 of his career-high 27 in the second half. Adams scored 15
of his 25 points in the first half. Anderson added 20 points and a career-high
17 rebounds. It was the first time in school history three freshmen scored 20
points or more in the same game.
"I wasn't really aware of that," Muhammad said when asked if he realized he
had scored 20 points in the second half after making eight of 12 shots.
"Multiple guys scored in double digits.
"Our guys were really unselfish (and) it's taking us a long way."
Drew scored only four points but had a team-leading 10 assists and only one
turnover.
"Larry did a phenomenal job," UCLA coach Ben Howland said of Drew, who had 14
points and added nine assists with just one turnover in Tuesday's victory over
Long Beach State. "Our assists to turnover ratio is the best it's been since
I've been here."
UCLA had 24 assists and 10 turnovers Saturday.
After victories over Fresno State, Long Beach State, Prairie View and Texas,
the Bruins will try for their fifth consecutive win Friday against No.12
Missouri in their last nonconference game before beginning Pac-12 play Jan. 3
against California at Pauley Pavilion.
Marvelle Harris scored a career-high 19 points in a reserve role and Tyler
Johnson had 16 for Fresno State (5-7). The Bulldogs led by as many as nine
points in the first half before the Bruins closed with a 10-2 run to rally for a
39-36 lead at halftime.
"Fresno State was very patient," Howland said. "They don't get anything in
transition. They run their sets. Those types of teams are tough for us to play
against.
"Our guys have to learn. Teams that want to get up and down the court are
easier for us to play."
UCLA began the second half by looking nothing like the sluggish team that
started the game by scoring only four points on 2-for-5 shooting in the first
4:03. The Bruins turned a three-point lead into a 16-point edge after Muhammad's
layup made it 70-54.
Fresno State opened the game by missing its first four shots and committing
four turnovers before Kevin Foster's tip-in after almost
3.2 (?) minutes. UCLA led only 4-2 by
the time the first television timeout was called with 15:57 left, however.
Once it got over a serious case of the jitters, Fresno State raced past UCLA
and built a lead that swelled to as many as nine points when Kevin Olekaibe
swished a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 25-16 edge with a little more than
seven minutes left in the first half.
"I didn't realize it was nine points," Howland said. "It's good our guys are
gaining experience. We're at the one-third point of the regular season, and I
like where we are.
"This is one of the best teams I've had here in terms of taking care of the
basketball."
Shabazz Muhammad scored 20 of his career-high 27 points in the second half,
Jordan
Adams added 25 points and Kyle
Anderson had career bests with 20 points and 17 rebounds in the Bruins'
91-78 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night. It was the first time three
UCLA freshmen scored 20 or more points in a game.
It was the Bruins' fourth straight win, and the third game in a row that they scored 89 or more points.
Muhammad credited the team's unselfishness for the recent offensive burst.
''We have multiple guys in double digits,'' he said. ''We're really doing a good job on the offensive end. We've been playing really well and we're going to continue to play really well.''
UCLA (9-3) will need to, with No. 12 Missouri coming to Pauley Pavilion on Friday to close out the Bruins' non-conference schedule. So far, they're 3-0 in the midst of playing six straight home games.
The Bruins improved to 7-0 all-time against the Bulldogs in the teams' first meeting since Dec. 27, 1990.
UCLA's Larry Drew II had 10 assists and one turnover in 35 minutes, the fourth time he's had 10 or more this season.
Freshman Marvelle Harris scored a career-high 19 points and Tyler Johnson added 16 in Fresno State's fourth straight loss. The Bulldogs (5-7) are winless in three games against the Pac-12 this season, having lost at Washington State and to Colorado this month.
''Our heads were not in the game,'' Harris said. ''The effort was there, but it was the mental lapse that let us down. We have the effort but we just have to bring the brains too.''
The Bruins trailed for much of the game before building a double-digit lead early in the second half. Adams' 3-pointer made it 57-46 just before a dominant stretch by Muhammad. He keyed a 13-5 run with 11 points, pushing UCLA's lead to 70-54 with 8:42 to play. Muhammad grabbed seven rebounds in helping the Bruins dominate the boards, 42-26.
Adams, Norman Powell and Anderson combined to score six straight points in extending UCLA's lead to 79-63.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent in the second half, when they were outscored 52-42. Their strong man-to-man defense stifled the Bruins' ability to run.
''Our guys hung in there,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland said. ''Those types of teams are going to be hard for us because our team is still learning. Teams that want to get up and down, that's better for us.''
UCLA scored 10 points in the last 1:50 to lead 39-36 at halftime. Adams and Anderson had four points each during the stretch.
''We wanted to go into the half on a run,'' said Anderson, who fell three assists shy of a triple-double. ''Closing the half on a run would be a great momentum swing.''
Fresno State built its largest lead, 25-16, during a 10-2 run that included two 3-pointers by Kevin Olekaibe. An 8-0 run led to the Bulldogs' first lead early in the game, capped by Allen Huddleston's 3-pointer - one of their five in the half, when their bench outscored UCLA's reserves 19-2.
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By Peter Yoon | ESPNLosAngeles.com
LOS ANGELES -- UCLA won a season-best fourth consecutive game with a tighter-than-expected 91-78 victory over Fresno State on Saturday Night at Pauley Pavilion. Here’s a quick rundown:
How it happened: After trailing most of the first half, UCLA (9-3) began the second half on an 11-5 run, and Shabazz Muhammad scored 11 of UCLA’s 13 points during a six-minute stretch of the second half in which the Bruins opened a 70-54 lead and took control of the game.
Fresno State (5-7) made 5-of-9 3-pointers in the first half, and led by as many as nine before the break, but UCLA closed the first half on a 16-5 run and took a 39-36 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs, a 30-percent 3-point shooting team that had made 9-of-54 in its last three games, made 10-of-17 against the Bruins.
Muhammad scored 20 of his career-high 27 points in the second half while Jordan Adams had 25 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Kyle Anderson had 20 points and 17 rebounds, both career highs. It marks the first time three UCLA freshmen have scored 20 or more in the same game.
Player of the game: Adams fell just short of leading the team in scoring for the seventh time this season. He made 10-of-14 shots overall and kept UCLA in the game during the first half while most everybody else was cold. He was 7-of-9 for 15 points before halftime. Anderson posted his third double-double of the season and added seven assists.
Stat of the game: UCLA is the first team to score 70 points against Fresno State this season. The Bulldogs had been giving up only 55.8 points per game and had held six consecutive opponents under 60. UCLA shot 58.1 percent from the floor against a Fresno State team that was holding opponents to 40 percent before the game.
What it means: The Bruins are still struggling on the defensive end, especially when it comes to leaving 3-point shooters open. That will be a major issue when they start facing teams with better outside shooters, but for now, UCLA will go into Christmas on a four-game win streak.
What’s next: UCLA plays No. 12 Missouri on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion. It is UCLA’s biggest nonconference test, and the last game before Pac-12 play starts on Jan. 3. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
How it happened: After trailing most of the first half, UCLA (9-3) began the second half on an 11-5 run, and Shabazz Muhammad scored 11 of UCLA’s 13 points during a six-minute stretch of the second half in which the Bruins opened a 70-54 lead and took control of the game.
Fresno State (5-7) made 5-of-9 3-pointers in the first half, and led by as many as nine before the break, but UCLA closed the first half on a 16-5 run and took a 39-36 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs, a 30-percent 3-point shooting team that had made 9-of-54 in its last three games, made 10-of-17 against the Bruins.
Muhammad scored 20 of his career-high 27 points in the second half while Jordan Adams had 25 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Kyle Anderson had 20 points and 17 rebounds, both career highs. It marks the first time three UCLA freshmen have scored 20 or more in the same game.
Player of the game: Adams fell just short of leading the team in scoring for the seventh time this season. He made 10-of-14 shots overall and kept UCLA in the game during the first half while most everybody else was cold. He was 7-of-9 for 15 points before halftime. Anderson posted his third double-double of the season and added seven assists.
Stat of the game: UCLA is the first team to score 70 points against Fresno State this season. The Bulldogs had been giving up only 55.8 points per game and had held six consecutive opponents under 60. UCLA shot 58.1 percent from the floor against a Fresno State team that was holding opponents to 40 percent before the game.
What it means: The Bruins are still struggling on the defensive end, especially when it comes to leaving 3-point shooters open. That will be a major issue when they start facing teams with better outside shooters, but for now, UCLA will go into Christmas on a four-game win streak.
What’s next: UCLA plays No. 12 Missouri on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion. It is UCLA’s biggest nonconference test, and the last game before Pac-12 play starts on Jan. 3. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
____________________
By
| The Associated Press – 10 hours ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Led by three freshmen starters, UCLA's
offense has cranked up in its last three home games.
It was the Bruins' fourth straight win, and the third game in a row that they scored 89 or more points.
Muhammad credited the team's unselfishness for the recent offensive burst.
''We have multiple guys in double digits,'' he said. ''We're really doing a good job on the offensive end. We've been playing really well and we're going to continue to play really well.''
UCLA (9-3) will need to, with No. 12 Missouri coming to Pauley Pavilion on Friday to close out the Bruins' non-conference schedule. So far, they're 3-0 in the midst of playing six straight home games.
The Bruins improved to 7-0 all-time against the Bulldogs in the teams' first meeting since Dec. 27, 1990.
UCLA's Larry Drew II had 10 assists and one turnover in 35 minutes, the fourth time he's had 10 or more this season.
Freshman Marvelle Harris scored a career-high 19 points and Tyler Johnson added 16 in Fresno State's fourth straight loss. The Bulldogs (5-7) are winless in three games against the Pac-12 this season, having lost at Washington State and to Colorado this month.
''Our heads were not in the game,'' Harris said. ''The effort was there, but it was the mental lapse that let us down. We have the effort but we just have to bring the brains too.''
The Bruins trailed for much of the game before building a double-digit lead early in the second half. Adams' 3-pointer made it 57-46 just before a dominant stretch by Muhammad. He keyed a 13-5 run with 11 points, pushing UCLA's lead to 70-54 with 8:42 to play. Muhammad grabbed seven rebounds in helping the Bruins dominate the boards, 42-26.
Adams, Norman Powell and Anderson combined to score six straight points in extending UCLA's lead to 79-63.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent in the second half, when they were outscored 52-42. Their strong man-to-man defense stifled the Bruins' ability to run.
''Our guys hung in there,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland said. ''Those types of teams are going to be hard for us because our team is still learning. Teams that want to get up and down, that's better for us.''
UCLA scored 10 points in the last 1:50 to lead 39-36 at halftime. Adams and Anderson had four points each during the stretch.
''We wanted to go into the half on a run,'' said Anderson, who fell three assists shy of a triple-double. ''Closing the half on a run would be a great momentum swing.''
Fresno State built its largest lead, 25-16, during a 10-2 run that included two 3-pointers by Kevin Olekaibe. An 8-0 run led to the Bulldogs' first lead early in the game, capped by Allen Huddleston's 3-pointer - one of their five in the half, when their bench outscored UCLA's reserves 19-2.
The Box (Yahoo!Sports.com)
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