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 |  Jordan Adams |
UCLA Men's Basketball webpage
Feb. 24, 2013
LOS ANGELES - Jordan Adams scored a game-high 20 points to lead a group of five Bruins who scored in double figures as UCLA registered a 75-59 win at USC on Sunday afternoon in a Pac-12 contest.
UCLA (20-7, 10-4 Pac-12) also received 11 points from Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Andersona and Larry Drew II. David Wear recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds, notching his second double-double of the season and his fourth in two seasons at UCLA.
Tony Parker finished with eight points, three rebounds and one block in 17 minutes.
The Bruins led 7-0 and pushed their advantage to 47-26 by halftime at USC (12-15, 7-7), evening the season series between the crosstown rivals. The Trojans cut UCLA's advantage to nine points with 4:01 to play, but USC never scored the rest of the contest.
USC had defeated UCLA in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 30 by a 75-71 margin in overtime.
"Our guys learned from last time by watching film today, and I thought our first half was tremendous," UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. "Tony Parker really stepped up today. Overall, it's a great win and, more importantly than the revenge factor, it keeps us alive and in control of our destiny."
Sunday's victory at USC's Galen Center keeps UCLA one-half game behind first place Arizona and Oregon (each team at 11-4 in conference action) in the Pac-12 standings. The Bruins, now 10-4 in Pac-12 games, will host Arizona State on Wednesday, Feb. 27, before closing their home schedule against Arizona on Saturday, March 2.
UCLA's 21-point halftime cushion marked the Bruins' largest such advantage in any Pac-12 game this season.
Travis Wear was unable to play on Sunday, suffering a right foot injury at the start of UCLA's practice on Saturday afternoon. Twin brother David Wear stepped up for the Bruins, scoring four of UCLA's first nine points as the Bruins built a 9-2 lead in the game's first 2:55.
"The greatest factor was not to have Travis Wear, and to have David and Tony step up and accept the challenge with one of their teammates down," Howland said. "Adams had two or three of those key defensive rebounds, where he grabbed the ball and made plays for us."
Drew II scored in double figures for the third consecutive game, making 4 of 6 field goals and 2 of 3 shot from three-point range. Drew II, a redshirt senior point guard, has made 9 of 13 three-point attempts in UCLA's last five games.
UCLA has four games remaining on its regular-season schedule - two at home this week followed by a pair of games at Washington State (March 6) and at Washington (March 9).
Men’s basketball defeats Trojans with career-best performances
Lexy Atmore / Daily BruinDavid Wear scored 11 rebounds in UCLA's win over USC on Sunday. The Bruins defeated the Trojans in the teams' second meeting of the yeardaily bruin feb 24 2013 5:28 pm
Larry Drew II had that look in his eye. Right after he hit his second 3-pointer less than four minutes into the game, it was clear that he wasn’t going to leave UCLA without beating USC.
Drew scored eight of UCLA’s first 14 points as the Bruins (20-7, 10-4 Pac-12) dominated the USC Trojans (12-15, 7-7) early en route to a 75-59 victory over their crosstown rivals.
“The fact that it was beating USC while I had this UCLA jersey on means a little bit more,” said the redshirt senior point guard, who is playing in his one and only season at UCLA after transferring from North Carolina. “That being said, all I care about is winning.”
Drew finished with 11 points, six assists and three steals in the two teams’ second meeting of the season. In the first contest earlier this year, USC came away with a 75-71 overtime victory on UCLA’s home court.
That loss left a sizable impact on the Bruins, and after a week of preparation and film study, the 16-point win over their rival was that much sweeter.
“It feels good to beat a team that we know we’re capable of beating, especially after we lost to them earlier this season,” said redshirt junior forward David Wear. “It was a tough feeling to lose on our home floor and we wanted to come in here and execute. We knew we were the better team and we knew we were better prepared.”
Wear had a season-high 11 rebounds to go along with 10 points and three assists as he started in place of his brother, who sprained his foot during practice on Saturday.
“I commend Dave for getting a double-double,” coach Ben Howland said. “He really stepped up in the absence of Travis today and played great. It just shows that we have a lot of good players.”
Along with Wear’s performance, freshman center Tony Parker played one of his best games of the season as he scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in 17 minutes. Those were all career bests within conference play.
“I was really pleased with Tony Parker’s play today; he was huge for us,” Howland said. “And I couldn’t be happier for a guy. There’s not a nicer kid I’ve ever coached.”
UCLA was able to build up a lead that topped out at 25, but USC pulled within 11 with 5:22 left in the game behind a strong performance by J.T. Terrell, who scored nine points over a two-minute stretch.
The Bruins have made a habit of letting teams back into games, but Saturday night was a different story, as UCLA went on a 7-2 run to close out the game.
“When they started making that run, guys were taking rushed shots and trying a little too hard,” Wear said. “But in those situations we have to slow down and get our composure and that’s exactly what we did.”
The victory pulled the Bruins within half a game of first place in the Pac-12, but according to Howland, the significance of the win did more than just help in the standings.
“To win here on the road without Travis available was absolutely a significant statement by our young guys,” Howland said. “This is a huge win and I’m excited for our team.”
Court Visions: Bruins need to stay cool as competition heats up
Lexy AtmoreSophomore guard Norman Powell is restrained by his teammates after an altercation with Trojan center Omar Oraby.daily bruinfeb 24 2013 6:50 pm
If someone hits you, do you hit back? Do you start a fight? Or do you handle it diplomatically?
When Norman Powell was shoved Sunday afternoon, he shoved back.
After the whistle had stopped a second-half play, the UCLA backup guard was harassed by USC’s Renaldo Woolridge, who stripped the ball away from Powell.
The two were tangled up and Powell tried to walk away, with teammates around him working to separate the pair. The Bruins were up by 17 at the time and Powell looked like he didn’t want the altercation to go any further.
But Trojans center Omar Oraby kept coming at Powell and taunting him. Oraby eventually crossed a line. So, Powell shoved Oraby away, an appropriate response given the unwarranted harassment.
Both Powell and Oraby received technical fouls, a small footnote on the box score of the Bruins’ wire-to-wire 75-59 win at Galen Center on Sunday.
That incident was one of a number of chippy plays the cardinal-and-gold incited while the scoreboard wasn’t in their favor. Each time, the Bruins handled it the right way, not letting their emotions run too high and get in the way of a much-needed win.
Older, deeper teams like USC will try to shove this youthful and shorthanded UCLA team out of the way during these last four games leading up to the postseason. The Bruins are more lovers than fighters (Powell is probably the only one of the eight scholarship players who I’d want on my side in an actual fight).
If the Bruins want to get to the NCAA Tournament and beyond, they’ll have to handle that roughhousing the way they did Sunday – by using their play and responding only when appropriate.
“The younger guys, they like to talk a lot,” said redshirt senior point guard Larry Drew II. “(Bang) their chest, go out there and bump people. I was telling them, ‘We’re up like 20. You don’t need to go out there and talk to these dudes. Don’t play down to their level. Go out there and let your game do the talking.’”
The diminutive Drew was on the receiving end of some dirty plays from 7-foot USC center Dewayne Dedmon. First, Dedmon pinned Drew to the floor after a foul had tripped up the Bruins’ point guard. A play later, Dedmon tried to set an illegal screen to level Drew.
Both times, Drew didn’t try to retaliate.
Shabazz Muhammad was on the wrong end of a flagrant foul later in the second half, with UCLA up 17. He didn’t try to start anything either, calmly stepping to the free-throw line to extend the lead.
The Bruins have been great at landing some opening blows this season but when it comes to counter-punching, their killer instinct wanes. That explained the way they lost blowouts to Arizona State and California on the road and this same USC team at home last month.
On Sunday, with the emotions of the rivalry running high, the Bruins handled every blow and got their revenge.
Email Menezes at rmenezes@media.ucla.edu or tweet at @ryanvmenezes.
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